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Panel member Derek Kirk lays out 'California Jobs First' strategy and asks ETP to align priorities
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Summary
Panel member Derek Kirk presented the California Jobs First regional strategy, described a 13-region framework and a $450 million Regional Investment Initiative, and urged better coordination between ETP and agencies such as Go-Biz and the Treasurer’s office to align training investments with regional sector priorities.
At the Aug. 22 meeting of the Employment Training Panel, panel member Derek Kirk gave a 45-minute presentation on California Jobs First, a state initiative that divides California into 13 economic regions and seeks to align agency funding and policy to create, attract, preserve and improve access to good-paying jobs.
Kirk said the initiative grew from multi-year regional planning and a desire to make investments that are ‘‘community led and climate forward.’’ He described a $450 million Regional Investment Initiative established to support regional planning and implementation and said the state has already invested regional planning funds and pilot project dollars to prepare sites, support workforce training pilots and pursue federal funding. He noted the initiative’s goal of braiding resources across agencies such as Go-Biz, the Labor Agency, the California Community College Chancellor's Office and others.
Kirk urged the panel to consider several practical changes: align ETP priority sectors with the Jobs First strategic sectors identified by regions; consider structuring future multiple-employer contracts to operate within the 13-region framework; and streamline application and program information across incentive programs (CalCompetes, CATFA/Treasurer’s full sales-and-use tax exclusion, and ETP) to reduce duplicative employer reporting. He framed these suggestions as ways to make state incentives more navigable for employers and to promote higher-wage, regionally appropriate investments.
Panel members asked questions about sector multipliers, skills transferability and future trends such as AI, automation and advanced manufacturing. Kirk and other panelists discussed skills mapping and the need to bake foundational digital and AI-awareness training into workforce plans. A public commenter later praised the Jobs First plan and urged continued focus on biotech in the San Joaquin Valley.
Next steps: Kirk asked staff and panel to consider how ETP might adopt elements of the Jobs First framework, including regional alignment of MECs and priority sectors, and to explore interagency application efficiencies.
Quote: "California Jobs First for us is about building a community-led and climate-forward economy," Kirk said, adding that the program aims to make investments that both attract industry and support people in-place.
