SLO Partners Wins 2020 Partnerships for Industry and Education (PIE) Contest
The non-profit has been recognized for developing local talent pipelines in
software, Information Technology and advanced manufacturing
[San Luis Obispo, December 23 2020] SLO Partners, one of the leading providers of modern apprenticeship programs in California, recently announced it has won the 2020 Partnerships for Industry and Education (PIE) awards which was presented at the California Economic Summit earlier this month. Two other California public-private partnerships also received the award – Year Up and its partnership with Diablo Valley College (DVC) in northern California and STEMbassadors, Inc. a student-led 501-C (3) company in the Ventura Unified School District. The award identifies and honors innovative organizations that are successfully preparing workers to meet the needs of California’s economy.
Judges had to choose the winners from ten finalists that were identified through a preliminary round of judging from the dozens of entrants received across California. “What struck me, and the other judges was the depth of creative and productive public private partnerships from across California,” said Monica Lozano, President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation. “We know that these programs not only help our economy continue to lead in the 21st century but also provide opportunity for all our students regardless of skin color, zip code or income.”
SLO Partners’ success in creating a talent pipeline that fills critical needs for employers is the reason judges for the PIE Contest named it a winning partnership. The non-profit was recognized for identifying a need for both the creation of more head of household jobs in the San Luis Obispo County area and local employers that were having a hard time finding people ready to work. The mantra of “screen for attitude, train for aptitude” helped SLO Partners, local schools and the Economic Vitality Corporation carry out initiatives to develop talent pipelines in software development, computer networking and advanced manufacturing. The regional consortium of business, industry, education, and community leaders also developed a “women-in-tech” scholarship which helped increase female enrollment.
The Summit, now in its ninth year, has evolved into a strong and influential bipartisan network of business, equity, environmental and civic organizations. It promotes programs and policies that meet the triple bottom line — balancing equity, environmental sustainability, and economic growth – for the prosperity of all.
Now in its fourth year, the PIE contest was founded to identify and honor innovative employer-education partnerships that are successfully preparing workers to meet the needs of the California economy. “There are many innovative programs between employers and educators that are preparing the skilled workers our economy needs,” said Micah Weinberg, CA FWD CEO. “The PIE contest honors and highlights these programs.”
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About SLO Partners (www.slopartners.org)
SLO Partners is one of the leading providers of upskilling and modern apprenticeship programs in California and a winner of the 2020 CA Partnership for Industry and Education award. Formed in 2014 as an initiative of the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education, its mission is to create accelerated career-pathways allowing residents to earn head-of-household incomes, while simultaneously solving a skilled talent shortage for local, growing business. The nonprofit has produced several intensive boot camp programs: FullStack Software Developer, Software Testing, IT Networking, Precision Manufacturing and Digital Marketing. Together, these have produced over 150 apprentices and upskilling opportunities in SLO County in tech and manufacturing with a $5M annual impact to the local economy. For more information watch the ‘SLO Partners: How it Works’ video and visit www.slopartners.org.
About the Partnerships for Industry and Education (PIE) Contest
Since 2012, the California Economic Summit has convened leaders in workforce preparedness to ensure the state’s global economic status. The Partnerships for Industry and Education (PIE) Contest was founded to identify and honor innovative employer-education partnerships that are successfully preparing workers to meet the needs of California’s economy. Now in its fourth year, the 2020 PIE Contest highlights just how tenacious and talented our state’s workforce development programs truly are. In a year of unprecedented challenge, the Contest offers a hopeful glimpse into the future.
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