California’s Workforce and Labor Development Infrastructure

Pam Sornson, JD on July 30, 2023

If it takes a village to raise a single child, then it must take many villages to bring up a workforce. Fortunately, California and its regions have spent billions of dollars over decades building the individual and congregate villages needed to fuel workforce demands for the coming years. A constellation of state agencies provides the guidance, resources, and talent that connect educational and industrial efforts to the overarching California economic development strategy.

 

 

The California Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA)

In 2022, the State’s GDP topped $3.5 trillion, which amounts to more than 14% of the country’s economy. Managing the needs of the vast and diverse workforce that generated those assets is, in itself, an industry. The LWDA oversees the resources and parameters that feed and support that workforce, including individual workers, the businesses that hire them, and the industries they build. It does so through the efforts of its seven major departments, as well as numerous boards and panels that advise the State’s economic participants. In general, the agency’s work covers four major arenas, each representing a sector that contributes significant and specialized resources to the state:

Agricultural Labor Relations

Industrial Labor Relations, which includes

the Labor Commissioner’s Office

the safety and health initiatives of Cal/OSHA

The division of Worker’s Compensation, and

The division of Apprenticeship Standards.

Employment in general, including

development

training

unemployment and

public employment.

Workforce Development.

While each division adds incomparable value to the State’s overall economic landscape, perhaps the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) is the most notable for the discussion around connecting college students to future career opportunities. This branch works directly with employers to help design and implement the apprenticeship programs that will lead to well-paying jobs for learners of all backgrounds. It works in conjunction with several similarly-minded organizations to facilitate apprenticeship development and connections across many populations, including the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California Workforce Development Board, the federal Office of Apprenticeship (DOL/OA) (which is situated in the U.S. Department of Labor), the National Association of State and Territorial Apprenticeship Directors, and the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

 

 

California Department of Industrial Relations (Ca DIR)

As an element of the LWDA, the Ca DIR works with the agency’s boards, commissions, and divisions to address emerging issues and challenges in the State’s complex WFD arenas. Maintaining its focus on its core principles and values, this enterprise of committed public employees strives to achieve the group’s four strategic goals:

Protecting every worker’s safety, health, and rights while on the job. This endeavor entails teaching workers about labor laws and requirements, enforcing laws that protect employees, ensuring that all worksites are safe and healthy for their workforce, and tracking and enforcing prevailing wage requirements.

Giving employers the information and support they need to manage a compliant and healthy labor force, regardless of their particular industry. When businesses elect to ignore or avoid regulation compliances, the agents from the CDIR will move in to enforce those rules and protect workers from exploitation.

Improving access to and efficiencies within agency service sectors so that workers, businesses, and industries that need resources can readily find and utilize them.

Recruiting and onboarding industry, economic, and business experts to ensure the work of the agency is optimized, and its constituents receive the best support possible in all circumstances.

Overarching all these elements is the organization’s commitment to diversity and cultural competence so that no California resident is denied access to all available economic and social mobility resources.

 

 

The California Labor Federation (CLF)

This union organization promotes and defends the interests of working people who come from all walks of life and occupations.

Aiming to improve workplace standards in all industries, the group uses a wide range of strategies to keep workers’ best interests at the top of every employment and workforce initiative. Their three significant arenas include:

Legislative effort – their advocacy for safer worksites and better benefits has netted California’s working community significant improvements in its benefits opportunities, including a higher minimum wage, reforms to health care systems, and reduced drug costs for vulnerable populations.

Their political effort is equally impressive. California’s 1200 affiliated unions wield tremendous clout throughout the election cycle, commandeering the effort of over 20,000 union volunteers to ‘get out the vote.’ As a group, union members vote at a 10% higher rate than non-union members.

The work of this group equally impacts economic action. Union members don’t just earn money; they also spend it, so their voice can play a prominent role in policy and practice determinations. In tandem with their political impact, this ‘union of unions’ supports partnerships across industries, businesses, and governments to ensure that all invested economic participants have a strong voice and equal weight in designing state-wide economic and employment resources.

 

 

The LA Federation of Labor (LA Fed)

With over 10,000,000 residents and almost one-quarter of a million businesses, the country’s largest county is an economic force in and of itself. Not surprisingly, it also enjoys a robust union-membership community, with over 300,000 affiliated labor and union organizations that collectively represent more than 800,000 workers. Like its state-wide sibling (CLF, above), this enterprising collaboration of advocates, business builders, and social justice seekers uses its five departments to coordinate community efforts and maximize its impact.

Its operations department ensures that all activities receive the support they need, whether that means wiring a community sound system or filling local streets with well-educated and very vocal proponents for change.

Its organizing department educates and supports smaller groups of workers as they grapple with the challenges they face in their localities and regions. The LA Fed ensures that all participants understand their goals and strategies to maximize the strength of their messaging.

The agency’s political sector is equally active in the County’s legislative hallways, wherever those lie. The goal here is to ensure the election of union-sensitive local council members, regional representatives, and county leaders to ensure that the rights achieved through union organization remain protected and safe.

LA County policy decisions also get attention from the LA Fed, which works to erode the impact and control over County decision-making by ‘corporate elites’ whose interests do not include the average working population.

The LA Fed is also aware of the significance of technology in today’s messaging and communications arenas. The group works to ensure workers get the information they need to protect themselves on the job and to share their concerns with the people with the power to help them.

In conjunction with thousands of business and industry leaders, educators, and philanthropic partners, California’s state-based workforce development ‘village’ has the capacity to design, develop, and implement the education and training that today’s workers need for tomorrow’s careers. By doing so, the State maximizes its existing investments in its economic foundation while building a stronger economy for its future.

 

Rethinking the Definition and Development of ‘Labor’

Pam Sornson, JD on July 30, 2023

The way the world ‘works’ is decidedly different now than it was just four years ago. In some cases, jobs that used to sustain comfortable lifestyles no longer exist. In other cases, newly recognized labor demands have yet to find the workforce needed to fill those openings. The challenge now presented is to clarify the definitions of those new forms of ‘work’ and then find the laborers with the skills and abilities to perform those functions. And when that labor force does not yet exist, the ‘work’ becomes the task of developing the systems and strategies that will train it, employ it, and then build it. And that work requires a community effort.

The Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) division of Pasadena City College (PCC) is proud to host its fifth annual Future of Work Conference (FOW) on October 26, 2023, in the Creveling Lounge on campus. This year, our education, industry, and governance experts will weigh in on how, as a community, we can build our future workforce by better leveraging our existing resources: state and federal funds and initiatives, forward-leaning business activities, and the network of excellence contained within California’s community college system.

 

Many Voices. One Goal:  Revolutionizing Student Workforce Pathways

It’s a unique circumstance when virtually all players within a single sector – in this case, ‘workforce development’ (WFD) – are facing the same conundrum. The ‘tricky question‘ here that faces each separate WFD entity is this: “how do we maximize the values of our intrinsic assets in conjunction with those of other organizations to establish a single system that works for and benefits us all? And also benefits our community?”

Fortunately, many California-based agencies are already evaluating the situation from their own unique perspectives. The State of California has developed numerous organizational offices to manage and guide the activities within specific industrial, social, and governmental spheres, each of which focuses on a particular WFD element. The FOW will bring several of the leaders of these agencies together to share what they know – and don’t know – about today’s WFD concerns.

 

Asking the Hard Questions

Fundamentally, the concerns to be addressed are those that arise in every challenge:

WHAT needs to be done?

WHY is it critical?

WHERE is it required?

WHEN does it start?

WHO is going to do it?

The issues presented to the two FOW panels are focused primarily on the efforts of California’s Community Colleges (CCC) and how they might reimagine themselves to provide solutions to these issues. The ‘colleges’ (116 state-wide, 19 in LA County) are ‘an entity’ in and of themselves. Collectively, they serve almost two million students each year. As a unit, they represent the State’s talent pool for virtually every kind of work. Consequently, as the ‘seed’ location of today’s and tomorrow’s workforce, what the schools do together and individually can and will have a significant impact on the economic future of every region.

The conference asks its panelists to offer their insights into three overarching questions, each of which needs answers to all five of the above-referenced concerns:

      1. How can we better align the goals and systems of California’s workforce development programs, California community college career technical education, and trade unions to meet current and future WFD needs?
      2. What do we do now to adapt our best-in-class student success innovations in the California community college academic system to meet student and employer needs?
      3. How can community colleges and their regional collaborators best align national and state priorities with industry sector priorities to stimulate the growth of well-paying jobs that keep America globally competitive?

Addressing these objectives is a big ‘ask’ that will require all participants to have:

a thorough understanding of the foundational WFD tenets that guide everyone;

an awareness of where opportunities for WFD growth exist, and

a comprehension of the barriers that can or will impede progress if left in place.

Accordingly, PCC EWD has invited top talent in several agencies to bring their expertise to the table.

 

Agency Leaders Collaborating for Change

As of this edition of the Pulse, conference participants will be representing these notable organizations:

From the schools:

Pasadena City College

The California Community College Chancellors’ Office (CCCCO)

From the government:

elected officials and representatives from

the California Labor Federation (AFL-CIO)

the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency

the State of California Apprenticeship and Workforce Innovation Unit at the CA Department of Industrial Relations and

LA Federation of Labor

From the public sector:

The James Irvine Foundation

Apple

Invitations to potential panelists are still outstanding, so the full scope of the participant roster remains in development.

Not least significant to the day will be a presentation to the Conference’s inaugural ‘California Changemaker,’ an individual whose career, WFD inputs, and industrial, governmental, or social successes have provided leadership and guidance on important WFD issues and therefore deserves recognition for that effort. Not surprisingly, the candidate list for this prestigious award is long, and finalizing the selection will take some time.

 

Revolutions in economics and social dynamics are altering both our present industrial and economic complex, as well as the plans and strategies we thought we had in place for the future. Our society can’t continue to operate on outdated game plans that can’t serve the emerging needs of today’s technology-based infrastructure. And no single entity has all the answers, resources, or opportunities to move everyone forward. As the adage says, ‘it takes a village …. ,’ and the PCC EWD Future of Work Conference is inviting all ‘village’ members to join in strategizing where we want to go and how we intend to get there.

 

Influences on Labor in the Post Pandemic Era – America and the World

Pam Sornson, JD on July 17, 2023

Pam Sornson, JD

July 18, 2023

Many entities have offered predictions about the future of economic development, including the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). That agency recently released its 2023 Economic Forecast, detailing the opportunities and challenges emerging from the COVID-19 fog and its rippling repercussions. As one of many reports and analyses, it provides insights and opinions regarding present and future economic circumstances that are relevant at all levels of every community, both locally and globally.

 

Economic Headwinds Hinder Progress

The pandemic. Inflation. Global and social conflict. Climate change. Each of these concerns has impacted or is significantly impacting society, as are the consequent human responses made because of them. Looking back over the past three years, these pressures have made long-lasting or permanent impressions on the country’s economic and workforce sectors.

 

 

 

In Large Corporations

The four phenomena listed above have created challenging repercussions for the country’s larger firms and organizations. In many instances, these enterprises base their revenues on the price and availability of the commodities they use to produce their proprietary products. In virtually all of those cases, the impediments imposed over the past three years have generated supply chain woes that eroded both their earning capacity and their market share:

The variety and availability of transport options within the global supply chain network shrank considerably during the pandemic as purveyors closed their doors to prevent spreading the disease. Those that remained open were swamped, and both carriers and ports were stressed beyond their limits, causing delivery delays and service disruptions.

Environmental upheavals also contributed to the supply chain difficulties. Drought, floods, tornados, and violent storms all interfered with the production, manufacturing, transport, and delivery of billions of dollars worth of materials and goods. And those elements continue to create havoc; by the end of April 2023, just in the United States, there were seven weather-related events that each caused damages of more than one billion dollars.

Conflicts between nations around the world also negatively impact America’s economic fortunes, whether it is actively involved in them or not. The battle between Russia and Ukraine, general tension in East Asia, and the ongoing struggle of ‘Brexit’ all pose barriers between the U.S. and its international trading partners. China’s growing political influence makes the global situation darker, as well.

Because so many of these big businesses are also significant players in America’s economy, the economic injuries they suffer are felt throughout the entire country.

 

In Small Businesses

As a subset of the corporate community, the country’s ‘small business’ sector has experienced an uneven recovery post-pandemic when compared to the larger commercial venture segment. Several factors combine to add pressure on these smaller companies (typically defined by lower annual revenues or smaller employee headcounts):

Industry type plays a big role in the capacity of its constituents to survive an economic downturn. Service industries such as hospitality, leisure, and arts and entertainment lost significant financial ground through COVID, and many organizations within those quarters did not recover.

Changing modes of employment contributed to challenges as well. The shift to remote work in many industries has left whole swaths of commercial real estate vacant, and it’s unclear whether the demand for that type of office space will return.

Post-pandemic inflation has also eroded the small business’s ability to maintain its place within its market. Usually, available working capital is limited for these smaller enterprises, and higher prices for commonly used commodities drain those resources faster than before.

Small businesses comprise a large slice of the American economy; contractions within this segment impact every community in which they exist.

 

A Contentious Infrastructure

Another concern that is – and will continue – impacting the work of the future is the current roiling of today’s workforce environment. ‘How’ work gets done changed irrevocably during the pandemic, and those innovations continue to evolve. Additionally, social upheaval across the country underscored the significance and corrosive realities of embedded inequity barriers to economic growth. Reviewing current circumstances at the micro-local level reveals equally imposing challenges to a fully realized economic recovery.

Sector Restructures

So many ways of doing business are now obsolete as the industrial world embraces emerging technological innovations. Customers are no longer greeted at the shop door but instead place orders, file complaints, and pay their bills using their digital devices. The ‘digital’ factor alone has up-ended virtually every brick-and-mortar enterprise by eliminating the need for excess square footage and unnecessary staff while also requiring technology investments that had never been needed before. Larger organizations must also shift their operations to account for crisis-driven changes in their relationships with suppliers, regulators, and consumers.

Embedded Inequities

The social turmoil that exploded before and during the pandemic turned a glaring spotlight on how the embedded inequities built into many public systems leave large percentages of the population unprotected in times of trouble. In many cases, these unfair practices and policies were deliberately designed years ago to promote one class of people over another. In all cases, they result in the loss of an inestimable volume of invaluable yet wasted human resources.

 

Individually and collectively, the influence of each of the four catastrophic phenomena has been profound, and this time frame – 2020 through 2023 – will, most likely, be seen as the cumulative pivot point when society fully embraced the emerging ‘5th Industrial Revolution.’ They have irrevocably changed the definition of ‘work,’ how it is valued, and the value it will provide in the future. Looking forward, those changes also allow every community to redress past mistakes and build a stronger, more robust economic foundation to support everyone, regardless of heritage or history.

 

Influences on Labor in the Post-Pandemic Era – California and Los Angeles County

Pam Sornson, JD on July 17, 2023

Pam Sornson, JD

July 18, 2023

Even in light of the economic, social, and political upheavals of the past few years, there remains in California an optimism that this moment presents more opportunity than oppression. Foreign investment levels are rising after a dip during the pandemic. Federal and state investments promise both more jobs and an improved infrastructure. Unemployment figures show that the State has reached its pre-pandemic level, and the overall employment picture continues to improve. In Los Angeles County, data suggests there is also reason to believe better days are ahead.

 

California’s Economic Future

An underpinning foundation of the State’s future growth is the recent investment by both its government and the federal government in California-based projects. The ‘feds’ have noted the State’s unique economic attributes and opportunities and are helping to revamp those in anticipation of future development expectations. The 2021 federal ‘Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal’ (aka the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)) aims at (finally) rebuilding the country’s crumbling transportation and utility frameworks after decades of neglect.

The State’s transportation network gains the most federal support:

Its bridges, roads, and railway projects will see a cash injection from the feds of almost $5B ($4.938B).

Ports and waterways will receive another $10M, which will offer some response to the pandemic-driven crowding at both the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. These adjacent shipping destinations combine to form the 10th largest port system in the world.

Support for ‘active‘ (human-powered – walking, cycling, etc.) and public transportation services will amount to almost two billion dollars ($1.962B).

The conversion to electric vehicles will grow with the support of $57M federal dollars aimed at an infrastructure for electric cars, ferries, and buses.

Responders to the environmental challenges that were prevalent throughout the state (drought, wildfires, and floods ravaged many communities) will share $228M in federal aid to alleviate those problems and build back solutions.

Public safety also nets a gain of $331M, aimed at improving drivers’ safety on California’s many highways and roads. So far, the IIJA accounts for more than $3.25B in recent investments, which, in turn, is responsible for creating over 42,300 jobs.

The ‘Build Back Better Regional Challenge‘ awarded California $67.1M in 2022 to assist disinvested communities with rebuilding efforts. As an aspect of the ‘American Rescue Plan,’ the grant was part of the $195M the State received to “catalyze new markets and technologies [that drive] shared prosperity … [and] unleash state and local innovation … .”

California itself is investing heavily in its own future. It allocated $54B over ten years into its transportation network through Senate Bill 1, the ‘Road Repair and Accountability Act‘ of 2017. Fiscal year 22-’23 will see a road-building budget of $1.6B from this source and another $8B for improvements in its logistics and product transportation sector.

 

LA County’s Economic Future

As home to almost ten million people, Los Angeles County’s population is bigger than that of 95 countries. Its ~4,000 square miles support a multitude of industries and nearly 300,000 businesses. Accordingly, its economic future is more about its specific metrics than it is about its connection with other states.

That distinction explains some of the anomalies that show up in LA County’s current economic analysis.

 

On the Downside:

Unlike the rest of the state, the County still struggles with an employment gap of about 25,000 vanished jobs, primarily in the hospitality, leisure, manufacturing, and wholesale trade industries. Other sectors, in contrast, are doing well after the pandemic; the education, health services, and professional & business services sectors have experienced ‘robust’ growth in the past year.

Tourism remains down, too. LAX data indicates that international and domestic traveler numbers remain at ~75% of pre-pandemic levels. Fewer travelers from China are just one influence that continues to suppress this industry.

Also weighing on county leadership is the exodus of Californians to other states. The California Department of Finance reports that approximately 300,000 people have left the state since 2019 and that the City of Los Angeles has been home to more than half of them.

One reason for that departure is that LA County has the highest number of impoverished households in the nation and the worst income inequality in Southern California. Consequently, inflation, job losses (for any reason), and industrial advances that leave these populations behind all add additional barriers to finding their ‘new’ future.

Other trends in LA County are also notable because of how they impact the region’s capacity to fully recover from the pandemic and its consequences.

Housing affordability has caused serious pain for thousands of county residents who can’t afford a single-family home’s now-typical ~$975K price tag.

The shift to remote work is also impeding economic progress, especially in urban areas that usually host several thousand people on a daily basis (‘daytime occupancy’). These mostly-business districts were also home to restaurants, hotels, and other ancillary agencies, many of which closed for lack of business during and after the pandemic.

Compounding the daily occupancy issue is the correlated real estate vacancy rate. In LA County, vacancy rates for office space are approaching 16%, up from ~10% in Q1 2020.

Taking into consideration all the economic and industrial elements that drive the development of a regional ‘domestic product’ calculation, LA County is expected to experience a slight economic contraction over the next two years as these circumstances continue to drag on efforts toward growth.

 

On the Upside

Despite continuing low employment numbers in some industries, job hiring numbers are growing beyond pre-pandemic levels in others. Organizations doing business in natural resources, mining, construction, business services, information, education, and health services have surpassed the employment levels they established in 2019. Many of these sectors – education and health services, in particular – will continue to see growth in the future. As well, transportation and infrastructure projects in and around Los Angeles County are receiving $368 million in federal funding in Fiscal Year 2022/23 to support $1.7 billion in public development projects, which will add to the County’s overall employment rate.

 

Incoming funding support gives State and County leadership teams tools and resources to build novel and comprehensive solutions to the challenges that have arisen in the past three years. At the same time, governments are working closely with regional and local agencies to incorporate resources that address emerging future demands, such as technology connections and training. The conversation about California’s ‘future of work’ continues to expand as more perspectives come to the table and more organizations join the endeavor.

Entrepreneurship: Upward Mobility, Equity, and the High Value of Original Labor

Pam Sornson, JD on July 1, 2023

Some might consider that America’s unique beginning was also the launch of its ongoing entrepreneurial spirit. After all, rather than recreate their political structure to mirror that of their forbearers, the Founding Fathers apparently decided that they should just build a new one from scratch. That entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive in the 21st Century, as is highlighted by the country’s growing population of self-employed business owners. As one of four alternative paths to ‘Upward Mobility,’ the opportunity presents its own unique method for enterprising workers to overcome inequitable situations and find the future of their choice.

 

Valuing Original Labor – The Entrepreneur

With its mild climate and forward-thinking attitude, California is attracting significant entrepreneurial investments, ranking 12th in the nation for its welcoming ‘business-building’ infrastructure. The State’s community colleges are part of that foundation. As the Covid-19 pandemic recedes, investments in programs aimed at building and supporting the entrepreneurial community are proving to be more valuable than ever. Not only do they help each emerging little company grow and prosper, but they also address the social and equity gaps that have held back so many ‘business-owner-wanna-be’s’ for so long.

Ultimately, the value of the new-business launcher is measured by how well their product or service responds to a current need. During the recent health crisis, for example, highly skilled technology workers experienced unprecedented popularity (and pay raises) as their abilities, in some cases, saved the business that had hired them. Not surprisingly, after the urgency waned, many elected to go into business for themselves and bypass the ’employee’ role altogether. In fact, more than half of respondents to a recent survey (58%) indicated that they were happier in their new station as CEO and were enjoying the increased job security that came with being their own boss. (Interestingly, almost all of the entrepreneurial respondents (93%) also reported being current competitors with their former employers.)

The reasons these new business leaders gave for launching a new company (rather than looking for another job) are numerous:

They wanted better pay. Essentially, these trained and (now) invaluable workers realized their effort and know-how provided the company with more value than their compensation indicated. The survey revealed that the average ‘new boss’ took home approximately $13,000 more each year after leaping into entrepreneurship.

They wanted more control. In their new role, the business moguls now run the show on their own terms and answer to no one but themselves (or their investors. Or their customers). They can manage the direction of the enterprise while also exploring their personal sense of leadership.

They could see the value to their community of something new; they had a different perspective or approach to a concern that their former employer didn’t like or couldn’t see.

Fundamentally, all the survey respondents had enough confidence in their skills and themselves to step away from their employer’s corporate vision and into their own.

 

Skills of the Entrepreneur

Other researchers have evaluated the skill sets and practices of successful business owners and have determined that they – as a group – share a number of similar attributes:

They have a passion for their focus, whether it’s the result of their education or simply their love of a life-long hobby. What they are putting their minds to is all-consuming for them.

They also have a vision for what they want to create. Often, not only are they invested in the creation of their ‘thing,’ but they are also invested in the public having access to it, whether it’s a product, a service, or even a piece of original art made simply to be enjoyed. When they connect this vision to a future expression of corporate growth, then they have the bones of a solid business plan.

They can plan. Ideas are good but need execution to become great. These technology entrepreneurs learned how the plan for the software/hardware/networks they work with creates the underpinning architecture of those final iterations. That linear thinking process helps them both envision and execute their personal company trajectory

They can also make decisions. What sets a great leader apart from other leaders is their capacity to analyze a situation and then execute a response as needed, whether that’s immediately or sometime later.

Perhaps the most notable assets shared by most (or all) business visionaries: their sense of self-belief and their capacity to persevere through obstacles to the goal they’ve set on the other side. It takes courage to forego the security of a regular paycheck and steady benefits and, instead, take charge of steering one’s own boat. Not all the businesses launched by entrepreneurs are successful, but certainly, the people who step out into that uncertain future to find their own way forward can’t be considered less than successful even if their enterprise doesn’t fully materialize.

 

The Entrepreneurial Future is Bright

If data is any indication, the road to entrepreneurialism is busy and getting busier. In 2022, more than five million new business applications were filed across the country, the most since 2005. And, of course, not all were for tech companies. In California, small and medium-sized companies make up a significant portion of the business community – there are over four million of them – and, in 2019, they accounted for 99.8% of all organizations in the state. Together, these smallish, locally owned businesses are responsible for employing over seven million workers.

The current uptick in entrepreneurialism is also addressing the equity concerns that have been so prevalent in the news in recent years. The pandemic adversely impacted businesses owned by women and People of Color (POC) significantly more than those held by white men. In 2020:

more than 40% of all California businesses owned by African Americans closed;

Over 30% of Latinx-affiliated companies also disappeared, as did

25% of those owned by Asians, and 36% of those held by immigrants.

Tax incentives have lured many of those back to the marketplace, while the Governor reestablished the 2022  Entrepreneurship & Economic Mobility Task Force for the specific purpose of connecting state-based assets to the underserved potential entrepreneurs that need them.

 

Each of the four alternate pathways to Upward Mobility provides its own challenges and benefits. Of them, only entrepreneurship puts control over both in the hands of the ambitious new business owner.

Entrepreneurs in California – Establishing Their Own Value

Pam Sornson, JD on July 1, 2023

‘Getting ahead’ in life typically means ‘to be successful’ or ‘to excel.’ For many people, however, that aspiration is often hampered by a variety of barriers and obstacles, both personal and public. Unfortunately, much of today’s outdated social and political infrastructure contributes to the problem by retaining policies and practices that were designed to prevent some California residents from ‘getting ahead’ in their own lives. California’s government is working at changing that reality. One avenue it is specifically pursuing is improving the opportunity for residents to build their own roads to getting ahead by investing in support and services for current or wanna-be entrepreneurs.

 

California’s 2023-2024 Budget

Perhaps most notably, Governor Newsom’s proposed 2023-2024 budget optimistically recognizes that the State’s economy has entered the post-pandemic recovery period. The May ’23 revision of the proposed budget notes many significant factors impacting California’s current and future economic outlook:

The State’s prevailing inflation rate, while relatively high at 5/1%, is much lower than the initially projected 7.1% (down from 8.3% in June of last year). Elements contributing to the reduction include the easing of costs for trucking and port congestion, reduced fuel prices, and an increase in the availability of microchips.

The labor market continues, also, to add jobs, although not at the rate seen in early 2022. California’s monthly jobs gain was ~68,000 in that year’s first quarter. In the first quarter of 2023, that number fell to an average of ~32,700.

In its forecast for the future, California believes it will track the country’s economic growth pattern, which is now averaging about .5% for each quarter through Q3 2023. However, confident financial advisors expect the Federal Reserve to ease its inflation-curbing policies by Q4, which would also jump-start a subsequent growth range of 1.5% to 2.0% for California in that quarter and those that follow.

Not insignificantly, the State has recovered all of the jobs lost in early 2020 because of the pandemic. As of March 2023, nearly 2.8 million jobs returned to the economy, five full months before originally projected by previous analysts. That number includes occupations in low-wage ranges, which are now showing ‘robust’ growth. However, the State’s current labor force remains less than it was before COVID hit, with only ~77% of those who left the market in 2020 returning in 2023. The Governor’s office predicts that California’s GDP will regain forward momentum and stabilize at 1.5% to 2.0% through 2026.

 

The EEMTF and the CalOSBA

Two notable entities are tasked with helping the State and its residents achieve that growth. The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) and the Entrepreneurship and Economic Mobility Task Force (EEMTF). Together and in conjunction with numerous other state and regional economic entities, these business, industry, and economic experts provide guidance and information for small businesses of all kinds, including entrepreneurs.

The CalOSBA focuses its attention on helping smaller organizations manage the myriad of financial resources, regulations, and programs available through state and federal agencies.

The experts appointed to the EEMTF in 2022 are directed to focus their attention on assisting entrepreneurial enterprises in attaining their full potential by identifying and clearing away obsolete programs and policies that presently bar their way. As an adjunct of the CalOSBA, the EEMTF will attend to three distinct goals, each of which is driven by the State’s mandate to improve the depth and breadth of its economic diversity:

Democratize access to capital – ensure that all those businesses that seek financial assistance can find it, regardless of the ethnic or other background of their ownership.

Diversify the innovation economy – This goal specifically looks to assist visionaries with diverse backgrounds and perspectives in bringing their unique ideas to life.

Drive economic mobility through entrepreneurship – As a pathway to upward mobility (both social and economic), entrepreneurialism offers individuals the opportunity to build the entity of their dreams while improving their station in life.

The EEMTF consists of 34 members from diverse backgrounds and with various histories and educational capacities. Together, they will help California identify and eliminate its internally embedded biases to build a stronger and more inclusive workforce and economy.

 

California’s Community Colleges

As one of three pillars of California’s higher education system (the other two being the California State Universities and the Universities of California), the California Community College system (CCC) is equally invested in entrepreneurialism as a foundation of its academic pursuits. It has designed its ‘Small Business’ career pathway to support students with great ideas but need more business know-how by providing them with resources and mentors to guide their way. Further, the CCC system has tailored those resources to comport with the eleven economic sectors identified by the CCC Strong Workforce Program:

Advanced Manufacturing

Advanced Transportation & Renewables

Agriculture, Water, & Environmental Technologies

Energy, Construction, & Utilities

Global Trade & Logistics

Health

Information & Communication Technologies and Digital MediaLife Sciences & Biotechnology

Public Safety & Service

Retail, Hospitality, & Tourism, and

Business & Entrepreneurship.

Each sector is led by a Sector Navigator with long-term experience in that particular economic component.

The Business & Entrepreneur sector, which straddles all the others, is significant to the State’s economy and future:

California is 5th highest in the country for entrepreneurial growth.

It’s second overall in entrepreneurial activity.

Small businesses, almost all of which are owned by individuals, comprise 98% of the State’s business community. They:

Provide four of five (82%) private sector jobs

and 75% of its GDP.

As those businesses look for ways to improve their fortunes in the post-pandemic era, many are turning to the CCCs to provide training facilities, educational support, and – most importantly – a well-trained workforce to move them forward. As well, in response to the burgeoning of the ‘self-employed’ career industry, 24 of the State’s 116 CCCs now offer a program focused on ‘Self-Employment Pathways in the Gig Economy.’

 

All these developments indicate that the whole of California’s economic community – from its governor’s office through its state agencies to its educational and industrial organizations – looks at entrepreneurialism as a fundamental aspect of its current and future economy. With this vast quantity of quality inputs and resources, there’s no reason why the State shouldn’t rise to become top in the nation as the epicenter of industrial and cultural innovation.

 

Part Two: Institutional Strategies to Improve Student Success …

Pam Sornson, JD on June 20, 2023

… While also Improving the Institution!

Pam Sornson, JD

June 20, 2023

Assuring ‘student success’ is not rooted solely in supporting the learner’s effort, as was discussed in Part One of this series. In this second part, we offer insights and suggestions on how improving institutional practices can also increase the likelihood that the success of the students will follow.

 

Identifying a Baseline

To be truly ready to educate tomorrow’s college students and workforce participants, today’s higher education leaders must prepare their organization to accept the adaptations that are coming. Multiple influences are currently washing over schools and communities that promise to be significant change agents at both the instructional and career implementation levels. Two advancing realities, however, are driving the most innovation: the impact of the pandemic, and technology, specifically artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

 

Covid’s Lingering Impact

Consider it ‘long COVID at the community level.’ While the virus’s lethality appears to be contained, its repercussions continue to affect millions. From an educational perspective, that lingering is revealing itself in three dimensions:

   Delayed K-12 Achievements

Not surprisingly, recently obtained K-12 assessments are revealing significant learning losses and delays in the lower grades. Those deficiencies will need amelioration before the students can continue on an upward educational track. Experts suggest enhancing academic support services throughout all educational systems for at least another five years to ensure adequate resources are available.

    Equity Revelations

The equity gap widened during the pandemic interim, too. Communities that were lagging in technological and social advancements before it hit are full-on lacking them now as public resources dwindled or were diverted. Enhanced social services support will be necessary at every college to help make up for those lapses in capacities. On the plus side, an elevated focus on righting inequities may result in the (final) elimination of entrenched, bias-based practices.

    Mental Health Erosion

While mental health services were inadequate before COVID hit, they are completely overwhelmed in many communities now, and students of every age are suffering as a result. Stresses brought on by enforced isolation, reduced financial resources, and the loss of community engagement caused millions of learners to reconsider their educational trajectory. In Fall 2021, 65% of community college and 75% of four-year school attendees responded to a Gallup survey that they were seriously considering withdrawing altogether due to pandemic-driven emotional stress. In 2023, those numbers are a little lower but still alarming: 41% of four-year schools and 44% of community college learners continue to contemplate the value of more education.

At the very least, today’s higher education leaders should assess how well their organizations are currently prepared to manage this influx of support service demand; the data indicate that they’ll need to be doing more to be fully able to assist their student body in the coming years.

 

Emerging Technology

The overnight switch to online learning underscores the critical necessity of today’s technology. Without it, the world would have come to a screeching, disastrous halt in early 2020. Since then, the emergence of AI, in particular, has triggered considerable speculation about its capacity to launch an even larger global disruption.

The lure of AI is apparent: programmed to achieve a very specific purpose, the application appears to automate the thinking process, finding possible solutions to complex questions virtually instantaneously. In a higher ed setting, the ease of accessing an AI opportunity suggests that students may use it to ‘create’ their academic outputs, foregoing the necessary research and study in favor of a speedy – and well-received – document. In fact, 43% of current college students admit that they’ve already used the popular AI app, ChatGPT, to produce some of their work.

Despite this concern, schools are also finding ways to use AI to enhance their connections with their students, existing and potential. Chatbots – those boxes lingering in the bottom right corners of almost every webpage – are actually well-programmed robots that fine-tune their responses as users type in their inquiries. They’ve been deployed in several situations to assist with both school and learner success:

Personalized responses that become ever more granular as the questioning continues help potential students find the precisely right school and program. The ‘bot can scan millions of academic alternatives in nanoseconds, ensuring the delivery of a comprehensive suite of options.

AI also assists with academic advising by offering in-depth information about financing, course work, etc., while also tracking student progress and alerting administrators when concerns arise.

Even mental health concerns can now be assuaged by an automated program, Woebot, which uses “intelligent mood tracking” to help students navigate their inner selves.

Of course, the real challenge of AI (and any other emerging technology) is understanding its benefits to achieve its best possible service while mitigating any known or as-yet-undiscovered issues it might also bring. Every school should consider the opportunities presented by technology and prepare to adapt their practices accordingly.

 

Remarkably, research into this topic – ‘how well do school practices support student success?’ – reveals very little study has been done on how school choices can inadvertently impede student success, regardless of added social supports. Those resources that do look at the concern couch it from a different perspective, often, as was noted earlier, in an ancillary way. Existing questions found in a highly regarded publication have been modified to include our questions in italics to illustrate the change in thinking necessary to understand our theory. We’ve struck through but left in the original language to clarify the distinctions:

How do our student support services academic and administrative processes influence students’ learning outcomes?

Are we recruiting students from all backgrounds who are the most likely to succeed at our institution?

How do our administrative and academic personnel costs choices and hires align with our mission?

At the very least, the future of a generation of learners is at stake as America’s higher education systems address challenges posed by COVID. At the same time, however, the future of virtually every community is at stake if its current and future workforce doesn’t get the training necessary to build its future economy.  Every college must adapt its processes to address these realities if it intends to maintain or enhance its student success metrics.

Part One: Institutional Strategies to Improve Student Success …

Pam Sornson, JD on June 20, 2023

… What are We Doing that Isn’t Working?

Pam Sornson, JD

June 20, 2023

The meaning of the phrase “student success” changes as educational systems and cultural expectations evolve.  These days, the definition is evolving even further to reflect societal responses to the pandemic, climate change, economic and social upheaval, and other global concerns. Additionally, recent research indicates that it’s not just a student’s activities that drive their academic success (or failure); in many cases, choices and practices by the school can also negatively impact the learner’s opportunity to achieve educational goals. When the school fails to meet its ultimate mandate – providing appropriate resources to ensure learners leave as well-trained and productive members of society – then whatever the learner does or tries to do doesn’t ultimately matter.

 

Short-Term Action (Should) = Long-Term Gain

For many people, the concept of “student success” focuses on the individual student and the services and support they receive while in their academic process. Consequently, many schools track a familiar network of metrics to identify and support the personal attributes every learner needs to successfully attain their scholastic targets:

Self-efficacy – the learner’s ability to manage themself, their time, and their activities.

Retention – the capacity to return each term to further their educational agenda.

Persistence – the ability to maintain focus over time to achieve their personal end goals, whether those are educational, career-oriented, or both.

Completion – the capacity to complete their desired courses and programs.

Academic achievement – the capacity to meet their course and program goals.

In today’s fraught and diverse society, many schools struggle to define precisely which types of support are needed for every student to successfully execute these traits. In the short term, each student’s success will determine the institution’s ultimate success in achieving its goals and mandates.

 

Clarifying ‘Student Success’ from the Institutional Perspective

Making that effort more challenging, however, is the emerging notion that ‘student’ success may (or should) also be tied to long-term cultural change. One expert asserts that an academic infrastructure that aligns its student success metrics to those of a change initiative has a better capacity to transform not just the life of the learner and the capacity of the school but also the community it feeds.

Adrianna Kezar, the Dean’s Professor for Higher Education Leadership at the University of Southern California, suggests that it is insufficient to consider the development and delivery of student success supports as ancillary to academic instruction. Instead, she recommends that both schools and their regional administrations recreate their existing organizational infrastructure to embed student success-oriented supports within the day-to-day activities of every office and department. Sharing the responsibility of enhanced learner and institutional success across all elements of the school facilitates the organization’s capacity to fully implement the needed interventions that will eventually accomplish a culture change. Doing so also ensures that those revamped visions of ‘success’ move with graduates into the community to facilitate its embrace of newly recognized social values.

Identify Where Change Needs to Happen

Of course, any form of institutional change should address existing issues as well as build a foundation for future goals. In the higher ed sector, too often, schools focus on the student as an individual person when contemplating improvements in student success metrics. However, recent research indicates that entrenched educational processes often cause insurmountable barriers for learners, and these school-controlled educational processes often require a more substantial overhaul.

In a 2023 survey, approximately 50% of the 3000+ two- and four-year student respondents asserted that challenges presented by the school and its practices were preventing them from achieving their educational goals:

More than half (55%) revealed that the teaching style of their professors made it difficult for them to learn the subject matter.

Almost half (49%) stated that their exams or the material on which they were based were too difficult for them to master at that stage of their education.

Another 40% indicated that unclear expectations from the professors regarding what they were supposed to achieve made it difficult for them to be successful in those courses.

Given that the survey incorporated student perspectives from 128 different schools, these concerns should flag every higher ed institution to investigate whether its constituents experience the same problems. If they do, then that college can affirmatively work to identify and remedy them as quickly as possible. An in-depth analysis of the courses receiving the complaints, their materials, their placement within the academic arc, and, notably, the teaching style of the professors who teach them would suggest where remedies would be most beneficial. If logic follows, such an endeavor would improve both the students’ and the college’s ‘success’ metrics.

The survey also revealed other aspects of decisions made by the school or their teachers that negatively impact the student experience and, consequently, student success:

While more than half (55%) enjoyed a mix of online and physical course materials, one in three (30%) wanted professors to be more cost-aware of them when making those selections.

Two in three believed they were graded fairly, but only one in four of those respondents understood how that grading was structured.

45% reported that they had received little or no guidance on course sequencing for graduation planning (although eight of ten of the 55% who had received that support rated it highly).

30% reported that a course they needed to graduate wasn’t offered during the term they intended to take it.

Overall, the survey indicates that today’s college systemic orchestration poses challenges to higher ed students over which they have no control. If schools embrace this data as a clarion call, and make changes to address these concerns, then the success metrics of both parties to the ‘student success’ strategy – the students and the school – can improve.

 

AI & Automation: The Augmentation of Labor

Pam Sornson, JD on June 3, 2023

Pam Sornson, JD

June 6, 2023

Not only did advanced technology preserve millions of jobs during the recent pandemic, but it also transformed millions more. The almost instantaneous leap to a remote and distributed workforce drove an expansion of technological innovation that continues to burgeon today.

The software engineering sector has been steadily introducing new ways to ‘work’ that augment both traditional and emerging labor forms. Two digital tools currently on the rise across the global industrial zone are automation and artificial intelligence (AI), and experts are now re-examining how each will change the nature – and value – of labor.

 

 

Digital Drives Change

While it is difficult to achieve a consensus among technology professionals about interim and final outcomes emerging from technological growth, they will almost all agree that everything in the work world will change to some degree. As a result, workers will need new and different training and skills to do their jobs, and many of the jobs themselves will require retooling to accommodate digital progressions.

 

 

Automation

The adoption of automated systems to perform previously human labor functions has been flourishing in recent years for many reasons:

Typically, automated ‘robotic’ machines take over mundane and routine tasks, including data entry and processing so that human input can address more sophisticated issues. The work is completed faster and more efficiently than a human can perform it, and in many cases, the machine is also more consistently accurate in performing the function than humans can be when doing the same job.

Additionally, sensors embedded in those machines scan for system elements or aspects that may require maintenance or replacement. These devices are infinitely more sensitive to errant circuitry and processes than humans are capable of achieving, so their function surpasses any labor a person might provide for the same task.

Not insignificantly, machines are also impervious to many situational concerns that inhibit or preclude human activity. Automated devices aren’t affected by the adverse conditions that preclude human engagement, such as excessively hot or cold situations, locations with ultra-high or low-pressure (such as the ocean floor or outer space), and other physically challenging environments.

For these reasons and more, the automation of labor will continue to grow as the cultural norm for the evolution of industry for decades to come.

Consequently, the inputs and activities of the human labor force engaging with those machines will also change:

Workflows will change as workers adapt their new technology ‘colleagues’ to achieve greater productivity. In some cases, systems will speed up as the digitized processing transforms details into insights.

In other cases, the human effort may become obsolete altogether for some elements of a particular task, leaving the workers to assume more managerial/oversight-type functions.

In still other cases, whole systems may be ditched in favor of those that optimize both human and machine labor, augmenting the intrinsic value of each as elements of the success of the whole.

Automation is already deeply embedded into today’s society, being found in almost every vehicle, home, and business. It will continue to permeate virtually all industries as its values and capacities broaden.

 

AI

AI offers different values and opportunities than automation, but its promise as an economic growth driver is comparable. Some experts define AI as a ‘subset’ of automation that uses automated processes to achieve unique ‘cognitive’ results that are intended – and often presented – as a replacement for human thought. In many cases, the final computation does, indeed, resemble a conclusion that can be or is drawn by a thinking person.

However, at least for now, the operative word in the title of the emerging tool is ‘artificial.’ These machines don’t actually ‘think’ as a human thinks. Instead, they perform a series of ‘machine learning’ programs that run a variety of algorithms to predict a specific outcome. The number and complexity of possible outcomes are dependent on the variables included in the programming, and the machine can only work with the information presented to it. Consequently, the ultimate conclusion drawn by the AI device is only as reliable – and intelligent – as the human that designed and programmed its database.

In a workforce context, AI is bearing a significant influence on the labor ecosystem across four categories of work-related elements:

The design of ‘work’ – The aforementioned ‘predictive’ capacity facilitates the testing of many processes to determine which will be optimal for a particular purpose.

The conduct of work – Built-in analytics enable a review of the efficiencies and deficiencies embedded in workflows, which can drive alterations to how people ‘conduct’ their work.

The measurement of work – Those same analytics provide the opportunity for a deeper comprehension of ever more granular corporate details, which can reveal where and how company assets are maximized – or minimized.

The supply of workers capable of maximizing the value of the technology – Finding workers capable of managing AI technology in any industrial sector is exceedingly difficult these days. There are currently very few technicians within today’s workforce with the skills to master both the complexity of the AI computing process and the swift pace of its innovations. The imbalance between the number of AI technologies and the shortage of skilled AI workers is driving up the value of these workers for every enterprise.

AI is already a significant factor in much of today’s industrial activities, and those existing evolutions multiply the opportunities to adopt yet more AI assets as corporate growth goals.

 

Both automation and AI are becoming fixtures throughout all facets of society. America’s higher education system has taken note of these emerging opportunities, especially within the community college layer. These leaders are now investing in ways their schools cancan develop more comprehensive technology courses that align with emerging industrial technology demands. As a process, the advancing digital infrastructure is informing all aspects of the workforce development sector, virtually guaranteeing America’s capacity to meet the rising demand and be prepared for the evolutions that will surely follow.

Rise of Unions: Revaluing Labor

Pam Sornson, JD on June 3, 2023

There was a time in America – some 50 years ago – when union membership was the central foundation of the ‘American Dream.’ Unions provided millions of workers with occupational and career stability, safe working conditions, and the economic freedom to live the lives they chose to live. While their predominance has faded considerably, unions still offer members more benefits and perks than most non-union positions. They can also be the foothold needed by marginalized populations to achieve both social and upward mobility.

 

Early Benefits of Unionization

Employees who are also union members receive different, and often more beneficial, treatment from their employers than those without union representation on their job.

For Individuals

As individuals, workers gain benefits demanded by their collective ‘voice’ for work-related elements that keep them safer and better paid.

Many of today’s workplace health and safety standards, and the consequences for failing to maintain them, are in place because union members refused to work in unsafe conditions.

Workers also have better access to healthcare services in regions with strong union representation due to the lobbying for the passage of paid sick and family leave laws by union representatives.

Pay rates have also been significantly influenced by union agitation over the years. For example, because of unionization, many employees working in hazardous positions were able to demand higher pay to compensate for the higher risk. (This phenomenon was revealed with particular clarity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when ‘essential workers’ were required to stay on the job – risking their lives – even though they were often the lowest-paid workers in the business.)

For Communities

States with high union participation also enjoy economic and social benefits not seen in states without a strong union presence:

Their workforce earns more money, averaging a $6,000 increase in median annual income over the national average.

Their minimum wages are higher (19% over the national average and 40% over non-union states), resulting in higher tax revenues for the government.

Their unemployed workers are more likely to actually receive unemployment insurance (funded by employers), giving them needed financial resources to remain economically stable and off public welfare rolls while seeking new work.

These data affirm that a strong union presence significantly and positively influences both individuals and communities.

 

Decline of Unions

Despite that reality, however, union development and participation have declined since their high popularity in the mid-20th Century. The number and size of unions multiplied after World War II as returning soldiers and state-side-based workers sought better pay and working conditions in the burgeoning post-war economy. By the 1970s, though, a series of global evolutions was eroding the economic and social foundations that unions needed to exist, including pervasive deregulation, industrial restructuring, and the emergence of the international marketplace. As a result, by the late 1980s, only 17% of the American workforce was ‘organized,’ compared to more than double that just 30 years before.

 

Union Interest Emerges Again

In many cases, the legislation used to derail the union movement in the ’70s remains in place as a barrier to today’s workers who might consider unionizing to improve their work situation. However, the economic chaos caused by the pandemic is again focusing attention on the benefits of unionization for both workers and their employers, and the effort is revealing some surprising developments.

More People of Color Pursuing Union Membership

Throughout 2022, the number of unionized Americans grew by 200,000 to a total of over 16 million. During the same annual period, the percentage of the American workforce that was unionized fell from 11.6% to 11.3%. So how did the country gain more individual union members while the overall percentage of unionized workers/non-unionized workers fell? Two reasons:

    1. More non-union jobs were coming available than union-affiliated positions, and
    2. Virtually the entire 200,000 newly unionized workers were people of color. A total of 231,000 people of African, Latinx, Asian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) descent were joining unions, while 31,000 white people were leaving them. The trend tracks research that demonstrates that union membership or representation reduces inequality by leveling the factory floor for all workers, regardless of race, gender, or ability.

Additionally, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reported a 53% increase in the filing of ‘union election petitions’ in 2022, the first step in the unionization process. Their data also suggests that in that year, more than 60 million workers would have joined a union but, for various reasons, could not do so. Further, public support for unionization was recorded at a 50-year high as workers took advantage of high job opening numbers to leverage their personal fortunes.

 

Employers See Benefits, Too

While, typically, businesses have fought the ‘organization’ of their labor force, today’s economy is providing a foundation that supports and encourages union participation. Many C-Suite leaders now recognize that the benefits of an organized workforce include reduced production costs and an escalated bottom line.

The pandemic exposed the reality that some jobs are literally ‘life or death,’ so enterprises in those industries are scrambling to regain workers to ensure their survival post-COVID.

Today’s tight job market, in general, is also pressuring companies to prioritize worker needs and enhance work conditions as lures to fill job openings. Being open to union activities can be a draw to potential employees who may have their choice of future employer.

Improved productivity for the corporation is also a known benefit that flows from an organized workforce. Statistics show that unionized companies reduce costs by decreasing turnover and churn rates. They can also enhance their product quality and community ‘goodwill’ factor by maintaining an engaged and proud labor force.

Data indicates that companies with a unionized workforce enjoy better performance and higher returns than those that don’t, and that the communities in which these businesses do business are healthier and more economically stable than those that eschew worker organization.

 

Polls indicate that more than two-thirds of Americans are in favor of a unionized workforce, and data suggests that having one is good business for the company. Unions are also now seen as a fourth stepping stone to upward mobility for marginalized groups and provide millions of workers the opportunity to find, secure and live the life they choose.

Social Strategies for Socioeconomic Mobility

Pam Sornson, JD on May 15, 2023

Pam Sornson, JD

May 16, 2023

If an entire community benefits when most of its constituents are ‘upwardly mobile,’ why aren’t communities building into their infrastructures pathways to achieve that upward trend? Why do some residents have opportunities for growth when their neighbors do not? In many cases, the absence of social and economic resources that support upward mobility is intentional. In other cases, the question of how to ensure equitable access to a brighter future has simply never been asked.

 

Four Policies = One Upwardly Mobile Society

So how does a society create pathways to mobility that are accessible to all its inhabitants? As asserted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), providing equal access to growth opportunities for citizens, regardless of their original economic or social situation, is an easier target than trying to assure comparable growth outcomes for all individuals. Further, the OECD asserts that communities can open the doors to upward mobility opportunities for all their residents by following four primary recommendations:

Increase public investments in education and health care for lower economic population tiers,

Revise labor and economic policies to champion work/family balance

Focus efforts on attaining equitable wealth accumulation opportunities throughout their social strata, and

Reduce the regional divides and spatial segregation of their districts so that all residents can live, work, and thrive in the neighborhoods of their choice.

Adherence to these standards will facilitate upward mobility for anyone who takes advantage of their resources. Additionally, it will provide the cushioning needed to buffer the adverse shocks and undesired impacts of low-income volatility, which can erode the individual’s capacity to succeed while also placing an extra burden on the social safety net.

 

Increase Education and Health Care Support

Research indicates that children raised in adverse economic situations typically do worse than their more financially stable neighbors, both educationally and healthwise.

A constellation of factors negatively impacts children living below the poverty line, eroding their access and ability to embrace educational resources. In many cases, their schools lack adequate materials and supplies, while their parents are too overwhelmed by work and other concerns to support the learning their children need. When parents themselves are less educated, the cycle of poverty, both economically and educationally, repeats through the generations, impeding any progress toward upward m

An impoverished childhood also often means ongoing or life-long health challenges for the adults they become, including behavioral disorders, chronic disease, and even premature death. Children raised in impoverished conditions frequently develop conduct disorders such as ADHD or cognitive dysfunctions such as short-term memory loss, which can continue to plague them throughout their lives, even if they achieve any additional level of financial stability.

Providing all families with the food, housing, and healthcare support they need to survive and move forward reduces their drain on public resources while adding future economic assets to the community.

 

Assure a Work/Life Balance for Lower Income Families

Analysts recommend that policymakers acknowledge the additional burdens placed on their economically strained populations. Working multiple jobs or many hours a day keep parents away from their children for too long, especially during their most vulnerable early years. Social policies that facilitate suitable transportation or provide financial supplements to replace hours not worked can give parents ad children the time together needed to ensure an adequate learning environment in the home. Further, community-based child care, low-cost or free preschool, and other publicly funded resources can stabilize a family and build a foundation upon which they can grow beyond their current economic class.

 

Level the ‘Wealth Acquisition’ Playing Field

Data reveals that wealthier families tend to stay wealthy, and poorer families tend to stay poor, not because they are destined for those outcomes but because the systems are designed to maintain that status quo. Notable tax advantages, savings and investing resources, and multiple wealth-preserving economic exemptions all favor wealthier citizens while being unavailable to their less affluent neighbors. In many jurisdictions, the financial system is intentionally steered to reduce the tax rates for wealthy community members through a series of deductions and exemptions, so they pay a smaller percentage in taxes than their less-wealthy neighbors. In other areas, policies prohibited upward financial mobility by allowing banks to limit loan access to borrowers who would use them to buy houses or start businesses. The practice intentionally suppressed the economic growth capacity of millions of Americans.

 

Release Untapped Resources by Eliminating Segregation

The segregation of whole populations because of color, religion, or some other determiner has been a common practice in America since its inception. The effort has cost the country untold trillions as a result. Worse, the concept of ‘income segregation,’ the separation of communities based on their relative income levels, has been growing, even while poverty and unemployment levels are dropping.

Research reveals that people earning higher salaries tend to gather and live in close-knit neighborhoods, which are unaffordable to those who make less money. They intentionally or inadvertently ‘segregate’ themselves into these high-wealth factions, which are inaccessible to those not equally qualified. The practice reduces the opportunity for less-wealthy people to achieve the mobility necessary to join them:

Those high-earners frequently gained that capacity through access to advanced educational resources, assets that are only available to people with more financial resources.

Further, those wealthy community members then invested in the educational resources needed by their children to grow and thrive, and those children, in turn, moved to neighborhoods with escalated property values that froze out less financially secure families while spreading the income gap even wider.

These trends have been steady since the 1980s. Many of today’s wealthiest communities are the beneficiaries of the policies and practices that have effectively ‘walled in’ their economic advantages at the expense of their neighbors in general and their society at large. The community as a whole suffers because it can’t access or release the untapped resources trapped in the lower economic classes, who, in turn, can’t access the educational resources they need to raise their financial profile.

Four Open Doors to Upward Mobility

Pam Sornson, JD on May 15, 2023

Pam Sornson, JD

May 16, 2023

Even without intentional barriers impeding their progress, many people find it challenging to identify the career or occupation they want and then also find a way to achieve it. Often, the family history doesn’t support the aspiration, or family resources aren’t available to meet the financial requirements. Fortunately, society maintains several ways for learners to engage in their chosen work, regardless of their economic background or lack of educational achievement.

Beyond college or university, four alternative avenues to jobs and careers are available to anyone who seeks them: apprenticeships, internships, entrepreneurialism, and union membership. Each entry-level option provides theoretical education and hands-on training for a specific occupation. Once begun, learners can quickly qualify for junior-level positions within the industry of their choice. They can then build on their foundational training over time to master escalating skill and competency levels. In many cases, these non-traditional students can earn more over their lifetime than their four-year university graduate cohorts.

 

Apprenticeships

In the ‘olden days,’ an apprenticeship was the only way to learn a new trade or occupation. There were no schools to teach hands-on skills, and those schools that existed were focused on more esoteric subjects, such as philosophy or debate. Master artisans took on an apprentice and taught them the skills necessary to provide that service to the community. The expectation was that the apprentice would eventually also become a master and remain in that occupation for life.

The popularity of the apprenticeship as a credentialed training alternative remains high in industries around the world. They are often favored because the qualifications to attain one are usually lower than those needed to qualify for entry into an academic school. A high school diploma, GED, or experience in a related field or occupation is often all it takes to be hired as an apprentice. Further, apprenticeships are usually paid positions, so people aren’t forced to choose between gaining training or earning money. And people who have completed an apprenticeship are also on track to make a solid living over their lifetime. Research indicates that 92% of apprentices who finish their programs and retain their jobs earn an average annual salary of $72,000, giving them the social and economic mobility to rise above their original economic class.

 

Internships

Like an apprenticeship, an internship offers the opportunity to acquire skills for a specific occupation or trade directly from the tradesperson or business. However, unlike an apprenticeship, which typically lasts one to three years and is usually paid, internships are typically unpaid, last a much shorter period (sometimes just one to three months), and may not lead directly to a full-time job.

Internships still provide educational and occupational value, however. Interns can quickly learn to handle mundane business duties, which relieves the staff from those obligations while helping the intern learn new occupational skills. They may also be tasked with seasonal jobs, short-term contract work, or other short-term functions that respond to company needs while also imparting a valuable educational element to the worker. In many cases, the intern learns more minor aspects of a larger occupational structure that they can build on through future on-the-job training opportunities.

A recent study drew data from 43 million LinkedIn profiles and determined that approximately 13% of all college graduates list at least one internship on their educational transcript.

 

Entrepreneurialism

Some people find it easier to create their own work than to find it through someone else. The ‘entrepreneur’ is that unique individual who sees a need to be filled and then develops a business to fill it. In some cases, these ‘occupational gaps’ arise when emergencies occur, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 era shut down many occupations but opened the door to develop many more. The ensuing “remote” economy, populated by entrepreneurs who aggregated skill sets and business assets in direct response to COVID-related demand, has exploded over the past three years, and continues to grow. Many of these new business owners never envisioned themselves as ‘entrepreneurs’ but took advantage of the COVID-driven opportunities to put their skills to better use for their own benefit.

One occupation that became especially valuable through the pandemic – and subsequently generated a whole new community of entrepreneurs – was that of the digital technician. In many cases, the worker recognized that their skill set was more valuable to their companies than those entities knew.  As organizations struggled to achieve the ‘remote work’ demands of the day with their (often outdated) digital tools, their sophisticated tech staff resolved those challenges while also building a new business opportunity for themselves. At the same time, the use of ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) was also on the rise. While many organizations are aware of the value that AI can add to their enterprise, they do not have on staff the digital talent needed to integrate it into their current situation.

As companies adopt more technology, including AI, the remote workforce, and a distributed business model, as examples, the demand for highly skilled digital technicians and software engineers will also rise. As a result, digitally skilled workers may find their brightest future as technology entrepreneurs, filling occupational gaps across virtually all industries.

 

Union membership

One other route to social mobility is that of union membership. Unions, a group of workers united around ensuring workplace standards are safe and fair, have been around for centuries. Their advocacy for their membership gives them a voice in many corners of the community and allows them to directly influence workplace conditions. Over time, the work of unions has established pay rates, work hours, benefits schedules, and other elements ancillary to the labor performed that would not have been made available without that collective pressure.

Unions have also played an important role in diminishing barriers and providing upward mobility for workers. One older study revealed that unionization resulted in wage raises of over 11% for typical female workers, who also gained access to health insurance and pensions in the process. Further, states with a high union participation rate enjoy a higher overall average wage than those with fewer union members.

 

Gaining upward mobility – socially, economically, or both – gives workers more opportunities to improve their lives and futures. These four options – apprenticeships, internships, entrepreneurialism, and union memberships – offer all workers, regardless of their original economic class, the opportunity to attain that mobility and move up in their little part of the world.

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