California Volunteers announced plans to recruit more than 10,000 paid service members for the California Service Corps at a Core to Career event on the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

The announcement came Friday during remarks by Josh Bridal, chief service officer for the State of California, who framed the push as an effort to connect paid service with jobs in government and growing industries.

Bridal said the recruitment effort is intended to expand pathways from service into careers, noting that “while DC is firing, California is hiring,” and that service can lead to living-wage jobs, union benefits and eventual student loan forgiveness. “If you serve your community, if you're willing to give back and step up to make a difference and serve, they're gonna make your life better,” Bridal said.

The event combined personal testimony from alumni, employer and intermediary remarks, and a roll call of public and private partners who have committed to hire program alumni. Janet Parga, a College Corps alum who now works as an ocean pathways coordinator at AltaSea and supervises College Corps fellows, described how the program connected students with internships and employers. “Because of the college core program... I now have a job that I love and one that gives me a sense of purpose,” Parga said.

Alicia Bell, president of UNITE-LA, described workforce development outcomes she said her organization has seen from partnerships with Core to Career, including placements in health care, technology and clean tech sectors. Bell said UNITE-LA has placed six Core members in earn-and-learn opportunities and praised the programs’ emphasis on professionalism, technical training and mentorship.

Speakers and organizers listed a group of employer partners present or newly committed, including AltaSea, Community Resources Corporation, USC, LAUSD, the YMCA, Kaiser, Amazon, Verizon, Blue Shield, the Partnership for Public Service, Teach For America and Pepperdine University. Bridal urged alumni and new hires to “reach back” and hire future service members to maintain the pipeline.

Event presenters highlighted program metrics and local placements: Bridal said about 80% of California Service Corps members are being placed into job pathways; Parga said AltaSea hosted seven College Corps members from Cal State Dominguez Hills this year; and UNITE-LA reported six placements. The event emphasized Core to Career as a bridge from paid service into long-term employment.

Organizers directed interested applicants to caservicecorps.com for more information and for applying to next year’s cohort. No formal policy actions, votes or funding commitments were announced at the event.

The gathering included state and city officials, employer representatives and alumni; speakers repeatedly framed the effort as a statewide investment in workforce development tied to public service.