Jeanie Wade

The Future of Workforce in California: Industry Trends and Employment Pipelines

Jane Oates, Elise Stribos, Jeanie Wade, Ryan Craig, Diane Helfrey, Jessica Koo Kim

This summit addressed the critical displacement of traditional manufacturing roles by automation and the urgent need to bridge the digital skills gap across California's Los Angeles Basin workforce ecosystem. Industry leaders from E-Velocity and Northrop Grumman, alongside experts like Ryan Craig, highlighted successful intermediation models and strategic partnerships that align K-12, community college, and corporate curriculum with real-time labor market demands. The event concluded with consensus that the obsolete "40-year degree" model must be replaced by continuous upskilling, apprenticeship pathways, and inclusive hiring practices to sustain economic mobility in the 21st century.