California’s governor laid out an ambitious plan last week to bring the state’s education and workforce systems together to prepare more people for in-demand jobs, including ones that don’t require a degree. He also directed the state’s Department of Human Resources to start systematically reviewing and dropping bachelor’s degree requirements for government jobs—a move similar to what a dozen other states have done.

In the executive order, Gov. Gavin Newsom set an aggressive 13-month timeline to develop what he’s calling a Master Plan for Career Education. The work will bring together a wide range of state agencies, including education and labor, and the California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California systems.

Christopher Nellum, executive director of the Education Trust–West, sees Newsom’s move as a major step forward for the state, and especially for its students of color. “Silos in our education and workforce systems serve no one, hinder progress, and perpetuate inequities,” he says.

Marty Alvarado, vice president of postsecondary education and training at Jobs for the Future, says the signaling effect of the executive order is powerful—and “the focus that it places to set a cohesive and integrated agenda is fantastic.” The real heft, she says, will come from how the order influences upcoming state budget negotiations.

Already the state has been pouring billions into career-oriented education and training, including $4.6B to develop better pipelines in healthcare and education, $600M focused on clean energy jobs, and $500M for education and training grants for Californians who lost jobs in the pandemic, especially student parents. It’s also investing heavily in K-16 collaboratives built around equity and good jobs, paid internships for college students, apprenticeships, college-and-career savings accounts, and a cradle-to-career data system.

“Tens of billions of dollars invested in the last few years, 12 different agencies, but not a cohesive, connective tissue—not a compelling narrative that drives a vision and drives a focus forward,” Newsom said at a news conference to announce the master plan initiative, according to an EdSource report.

The master plan would bring together that work around three overarching areas:

  • Career pathways, including a focus on exposing students early in high school to well-compensated and high-growth careers, including ones that don’t require a degree.
  • Hands-on learning and real-life skills, including paid earn-and-learn opportunities for students and workers.
  • Universal access and affordability, including reducing debt burdens and the challenges of navigating complex bureaucracies.

Newsom also laid out some specific goals, such as building an online portal for jobseekers in California and reimagining the student transcript, EdSource reported. He called for a “career passport” that would go beyond grades and include marketable work skills developed through apprenticeships, internships, and other experiences.

Both the proposed jobs portal and the career passport, a type of learning and employment record, would rest on the state’s cradle-to-career data system. Once a laggard in managing and using education and workforce data, California has been investing heavily in its combined data system and in creating user-friendly tools. In an analysis last year, the Data Quality Campaign called it one of the “most ambitious, inclusive, and thoughtful efforts in the nation.”

The state is certainly not alone, however, in betting big on both better data and better coordination of education and workforce investments. “This is indicative of a larger trend we’re seeing around the country,” says Andrew Smalley, a policy specialist in education at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Alabama, for example, just launched a new talent marketplace that cuts across higher education and the labor market and that required coordination among 19 government agencies. Missouri has formally combined its departments of higher education and workforce, and Smalley says at least four other states, including Indiana and Arkansas, have created governor’s cabinets that coordinate education and workforce development.

“A lot of this is driven by state attainment goals,” he says. “There’s a growing recognition that meeting those attainment goals can’t just be left to the higher education institutions in the state.”