News & Stories

Homelessness does not discriminate. Individuals who make up our region’s population come from a diverse background of age, race, circumstances and experiences. Some are veterans, others are under 18. Some have no family in the area, others navigate housing insecurity as a household. For some, there is addiction and disability, but one thing remains certain for all: they are fighting for survival on the streets of San Diego.

Florita Realin is a Facilities Coordinator at the San Diego Workforce Partnership. Here she tells a little bit about herself, both personally and professionally.

Over 200 job seekers connected with more than 30 employers, including Geico, San Diego Youth Services, Arc of San Diego, Accent Care, Hilton and more. Employers shared job opportunities, collected applications and interviewed job seekers, with some offering jobs on the spot.

It’s shocking when you think about it: imagine a young person who is in the prime age range for building essential skills, learning expertise and gaining critical early work experience being completely disconnected from both work and school.

Layoff aversion helps employers avert layoffs through business process improvement projects. It is funded under Rapid Response, which provides resources to workers who have been laid off—functioning as a “sister” program of sorts by offering a proactive solution to businesses at risk of laying off workers.

San Diego’s early childhood and philanthropic worlds were rocked this month by the announcement of a generous $13.8 million donation for early childhood education to the San Diego Foundation by Guy Clum. Tucked into the list of initial grant recipients from the new fund was notice of a $150,000 gift to the San Diego Workforce Partnership to help with advocacy and research as the fund builds its grantmaking strategy.

Entering the basement of the Chula Vista Public Library’s Civic Center branch is like discovering an educational Atlantis. In this vibrant and imaginative space, students are exploring their strengths and interests through a lens of technology, engineering and science. The Innovation Station is a more than a makerspace, it’s an experience of self-discovery and intergenerational learning—which happens to be molding San Diego’s next generation of skilled workers.

Sports always made sense to me. Players and coach know the rules. Game starts. Referees call fouls, arbitrate. Playing field is level. Competitors lay their talents, preparation, strategy and teamwork on the table. Sweat. (Sometimes) blood. Winners. Losers. New opportunity to get better and compete the next day. Growing up where and how I did, I figured life was more or less similar. But I was wrong.

For over 20 years, the California Workforce Association has brought together an impromptu think tank of individuals from across the broad spectrum of workforce and economic development and education to consider “outside” points of view at Meeting of the Minds. Here’s what we learned this year.

Kerri De Jager is a Program Specialist at the San Diego Workforce Partnership. Here she tells a little bit about herself, both personally and professionally.