Unclogging the Talent Pipeline

Many students confront significant obstacles to completing their college education and securing necessary certificates and credentials that employers require. These obstacles prevent students from pursuing good careers and leave employers struggling to fill vacancies. To better understand and eliminate these obstacles, the Bay Area Council is partnering with the city of Oakland on a project led by the National League of Cities with support from The Kresge Foundation to clear the path for students trying to enter the workforce. The project will analyze data on student outcomes and ensure that resources are targeted to reduce the impact of these obstacles, which include food insecurity, availability and cost of housing and lack of transportation.

“For more of our families to have a shot at economic mobility, we must tackle the conditions around education that lead to everyday barriers students continue to encounter even when they make it into postsecondary education programs,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said. “Addressing and delivering on those basic needs is critical to how we’re thinking about college affordability, and real change will require a stronger, deeper cross-sector collaboration, along with the full force of Oakland’s political will.”

To learn more about this initiative or the Workforce of the Future, please contact Senior Vice President of Public Policy Linda Bidrossian.