College of the Canyons has received a $500,00 grant from the California Workforce Development Board to develop High Road Training Partnerships with regional industry partners.

The HRTP initiative was created to address income inequality, economic competitiveness, and climate change through regional skills strategies designed to support economically and environmentally resilient communities in California.

“Through this partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation and the Advanced Technology Center (ATC), COC will have the ability to benefit dual-enrolled high school students, postsecondary technical students, large, underserved adult minority populations, unemployed military veterans and dislocated workers,” said Harriet Happel, dean of career education and integrative learning at the college.

The worker-focused training partnerships build skills for the state’s “high road” employers, which results in family-supporting jobs.

The project will focus on worker supply and employer demand of the labor market in the Santa Clarita Valley. Applying the HRTP framework, COC will work with industry partners to prioritize equity and job quality in alignment with the implementation of strategies for transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy.

“The HRTP model will assist our partnership in opening opportunities for students as trained technicians, technologists, and students articulating into university engineering and related programs in advanced technologies,” added Happel.

The CWDB is the Governor’s agent for the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of the state’s workforce development system.