One of the guiding principles of College of the Redwoods is a commitment to remain connected and responsive to the needs of the community we serve. In previous columns, I have written that CR is in the process of updating our Education Master Plan, which will guide program development and decisions about growth and resource allocation and allow us to better address the needs of students and our industry partners. As part of that process, we are hosting a Workforce Summit on April 9^th.

We have invited and attempted to include all major local industries in a discussion that will focus on what we, as an institution, need to invest in to better support the economic vitality of the region and prepare students for the jobs of the future.

We will also update industry leaders regarding what we see as CR's challenges moving forward, and the initiatives underway to address them. We will use data from the California Economic Development Department to report on economic trends in our area, including forecasts for high demand jobs, skills, and industry sectors, and solicit feedback from industry participants on how accurate they believe these trends to be. We will also ask them what they see as CR’s role in providing skilled labor to fill these needs.

We will use the information gathered at this important summit to inform our Education Master Plan revision process. I am very confident that what we learn will have significant impact on our academic programming and financial choices in the future.

The other half of the workforce equation is, of course, our students. And so I am happy to announce that we have recently launched a Career Center which will assists students and businesses with a variety of resources to meet their employment needs. Our internship, apprenticeship, and job placement programs will help connect students to jobs that fit their particular skills and interests.

The Career Center website includes a job board, where employers can post job announcements and recruit students with desired skills as well as training and career exploration and planning resources including resume and interview assistance for students.

Additionally, we are hosting a virtual Job Fair on Friday, April 23 for local area employers and then again on Wednesday, April 28 for our students who are interested in nursing and other health care occupations. Our goal of the Job Fairs is two-fold - to help students find summer jobs and to help our Career Center coordinator become more familiar with some of the major employers in the Humboldt/Del Norte county area.*

Members of our Employer Panel will present a 5 to 8 minute introduction to their organization, share what they look for in an applicant, what students can expect from a career with them, and their available positions. We will then split into break-out rooms where students can interact with panel-members, much as they would in a face-to-face job fair.

I am hopeful that the Career Center will be a well-used and beneficial community resource.

In other news and in case you missed it, I wanted to mention that CR has launched a podcast. We're calling it "What's the Issue with..." and each episode will take one timely, topical issue and invite two of our resident faculty or staff experts on to discuss the issue. We imagine there will be common ground, some friendly rivalries, and also some spirited debates.

The podcast is hosted by CR part-time professor and former student Matthew Cendejas, and the second episode, What’s the Issue with…the Voting Rights Act, was released this week. It features our Political Science faculty and Voting Rights Act expert Professor Dr. Ryan Emenaker and Administration of Justice Professor Gary Sokolow.

Episodes will be available every few weeks on our website, Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is a very exciting time for College of the Redwoods. I am extremely grateful that I have an opportunity to work with the best faculty and staff in any higher education institution.

* If you would like to present your business and job openings at the Job Fair, you can contact careercenter@redwoods.edu.