Plumas K-12 Patient Care Program Fosters Community Careers.
Plumas K-12 PHESI Program
Healthy hospitals mean healthier communities, but with looming workforce shortages in health care, the prescription is building a better local talent pipeline.
For industry partner Darren Beatty, Chief Operating Officer of Plumas District Hospital (PDH), the need for skilled employees hits especially hard.
“We have shortages in almost every sector of our industry, and the recruiting process is especially challenging in rural areas,” says Beatty, who notes he’s seen small towns like his collapse if their local hospital has to close.
“We’re the only health care provider in our area; if we aren’t doing the service, there is no community.”
That’s why Beatty jumped at the chance to “plant seeds” with young learners in the new Plumas Health Career Exploration Spring Institute (PHESI) program. Based on the Health-Careers Exploration Summer Institute (HESI) program, Plumas Charter School’s PHESI program is an expanded semester-long exploration of health care careers for juniors and seniors in the Patient Care Pathway, including 40 hours of rotations at the local hospitals.
The program was piloted two years ago at Plumas Charter School and has grown since. As K-12 Pathway Coordinator Dr. Lisa Kelly explains, the program was adapted to the small rural community to fit the needs of students and the local hospitals.
“This is the new school,” says Kelly. “This is how you get students excited and impassioned, by getting them in the context of their education with work-based learning.”
Cyberbit Partnership Connects MC Students to Vital Industry Experience
Mendocino College Cyberbit Partnership
If you can’t hack it, you can’t back it.
As the digital frontier continues to expand, it’s more essential than ever for the cybersecurity workforce to keep pace. At Mendocino College, cybersecurity students are not only mastering the tools to stay one step ahead of hackers… they’re putting their white-hat skills into practice.
“The digital landscape is growing,” says David Pai, Professor in the Computer Science program at Mendocino College. “We use more digital stuff all the time, and along with that, the whole issue of privacy [and] security has just grown.”
From smartphone security to AI, Mendocino College has always been ahead of the game when it comes to evolving issues in cybersecurity. The Computer Science department recently introduced four new Cybersecurity degree pathways, beginning in the spring, allowing students to earn an associate degree in Cybersecurity or certificates of achievement in Digital Forensics, Network Defense and Penetration Test.
But in an industry that moves as fast as the flow of data, students need more than just a degree to connect to a great career. The cybersecurity industry frequently requires authentic experience, even in entry-level employees. Thanks to a dynamic new partnership with the world-leading skill development platform Cyberbit, Mendocino College is giving students the opportunity to hone critical cybersecurity skills.
“One of the reasons we love Cyberbit so much is that it provides a platform where we can actually give [students] as close to realistic problems and scenarios as we can,” says Pai. “So, they get to log in to a …. full-fledged network that you might see in a larger enterprise.
“They use real tools you would use in the real world.”
to Spotlight Programs Preparing Students for Well-Paying Jobs
Published: Apr 02, 2024
ROCKLIN – Today, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, alongside the Governor’s Council for Career Education, visited Sierra College’s workforce programs that are empowering students by providing training for well-paying jobs. During the visit, the First Partner met with students from the Mechatronics program – created to meet regional industry needs – as they worked in the college’s Makerspace.
“The Sierra College Mechatronics program is a great example of the commitment the Governor and I share to provide Californians with pathways to well-compensated careers so they have the resources to provide for themselves and their families. The focus on recruiting more women into STEM fields like mechatronics also furthers our goal to close the wage, wealth, and opportunity gaps by uplifting women in industries that traditionally exclude us.” –First Partner Siebel Newsom
It was a busy week for community college, high school and middle students across the state participating in the 2024 and 6th Annual Mayor’s Cyber Cup! This is the second year we included Inland Empires teams in joint awards as well!
On Saturday, April 27, 2024 we celebrated the 2024 Mayor’s Cup Cyber Awards for our Annual Competition. Participants from a wide range - Southern California to as far north as Foothills High school in Shasta participated. For 40% of participants across the middle school, high school and community college student categories, it was their first time! An even higher percentage of first-timers than last year! Something that fills our ICT hearts, especially for students in rural communities!
Speaking of first-timers, Academy of the Redwoods wowed the crowd taking the Best New Team Award AND the Mayor’s Cup! This unseats the cup from its longtime incumbent, Chico Mayor Andrew Coolidge! What a splash! The cup will make its way over the river and through the woods as they say–to Mayor Michael Behiel’s office in Humboldt, CA later this Spring.
ICT & ECU professionals came together April 19th for a unique cross-sector advisory featuring Karen Eckerseley of the California Public Utility Commission as keynote. Hundreds of millions have been invested in California infrastructure projects for Broadband, a much-needed initiative for a long time coming. Along with it, positions and development are on the horizon. “It is already known that any hold up for these BEAD projects will not be the funding, it’s that they need the workforce…and it's an opportunity for people to help in their own communities,” Robert Tse, Senior Policy Advisor at USDA’s Telecommunications Program, Rural Utilities Service commented on the topic at a recent ICT conference. “Making the trades a little bit more sexy again…If it were to funnel through the community colleges into the trades a little bit that could maybe make it more appealing,” said APEX CEO and panelist Kenny Blakeslee, “but the trades have been demonized for decades.”
Ryan Connelly, Cosumnes River Construction Program Faculty & Department Chair agreed, “We’ve been able to be responsive to industry needs in the past. First it was traditional construction, then it was solar, and now we are getting into more aspects of construction management and preparing students with exploratory courses so they can be ready for changes.”
Professor Connelly seemed to echo Alex, VP of MasTec and AT&T Contractor on being responsive. “We are on the construction side of this. We even developed some of our own training programs to meet the need.”
It’s time to recruit and fill the positions on the North Far North Coordinating Council for the 2024-2026 term.
We are inviting you to apply ornominate someone who might be the best person for one of these open positions. The NFNRC is recruiting for membership positions to begin August, 2024. Please apply if you are still interested in continuing in your position you hold now.
PURPOSE:
The Coordinating Council will (1)provide consultation and advice on regional investments, (2) promote Career Education (CE) with their various constituent groups and (3) advocate for CE policy reform. This group is advisory and does not have voting rights.
MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES:
Ensure that regional constituency leadership groups are aware of NFNRC activities, actions and decisions. Provide information on policy related to career education programming and funding streams. Advocate on behalf of the Consortium regarding needed policy reform. Collaborate with the NFNRC staff to ensure information/format/etc. are appropriate for dissemination to Regional and state External Leadership. Communicate information shared by NFNRC with their respective constituent groups and college leadership. Inform NFNRC Executive Director of regional leadership’s questions, concerns, ideas. Act in the best interest of the region as a whole. Maintain an equity-minded lens in all decision-making. Attend meetings regularly or ensure attendance of designated alternatives.
MEETINGS:
The Coordinating Council will meet once a month (the last Monday of the month from 10am-11am); first meeting will be August 26th, additional meetings may be called as deemed necessary. Meetings may be in-person or via video conference. The NFNRC Executive Director may ask for a replacement if a member does not participate regularly.
The following positions are open and we request your assistance with filling them.
Economic & Workforce Development Advisory Committee(EWDAC) - representative from the NFNRC region
CEO- North & Far North
CIO-North & Far North
CSSO-North &Far North
Voting Member - North & Far North
Faculty CE Liaison-North & Far North
WIB Representative-North & Far North
Adult Education Representative
ADEP- North & Far North
Student or Alumni-North & Far North
Please complete this APPLICATION* if you’d like to apply or nominate someone by 06/07/2024. We appreciate everyone's participation in serving as part of the Coordinating Council for the NFN region. *To the extent possible, no more than one individual from each college will be represented on the Coordinating Council.*
Please pass along to folks that may beinterested in serving on the Coordinating Council.
The complete details ofthe NFN Governance can be found here.
To learn more please visitthe North Far North Regional Plan found here.
Events
North State Together Webinar: Using US CensusData for Neighborhood Dashboards - Register today!
Audience: This session is tailored for a specific audience deeply engaged in Cradle to Career Collective Impactand community school initiatives. Our intended participants include professionals, data analysts, community organizers, educators, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to harnessing data-driven strategies to enhance the well-being and educational outcomes of children and youth. This diverse audience shares a common interest in using data as a powerful tool for driving informed decision-making and effecting positive change at the neighborhood level. Please share this with anyone who might be interested in attending.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
