City Council
July 16, 2024
RECOMMENDATION
AGENDA REPORT
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt a Resolution:
(1) Accepting And Appropriating Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000) from Alameda County Workforce Development Board To Support The Marine Trades & Water Transportation Career Initiative;
(2) Accepting and Appropriating Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000) From The State Of California’s Workforce Development Board Workforce Accelerator Fund To Increase Information Technology Career Opportunities for Young People; and
(3) Authorizing Grant Agreements In A Total Amount Not To Exceed One Million One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($1,150,000) With The Following Service Providers Competitively Selected For Fiscal Years 2024-2026:
(a) Lao Family Community Development Inc. In An Amount Not To Exceed Seven Hundred Thirty Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty-Three Dollars ($730,833);
(b) The Spanish Speaking Unity Council In An Amount Not To Exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000); and
(c) The West Oakland Job Resource Center In An Amount Not To Exceed Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Oakland (City) has been awarded funding from the Alameda County Workforce Development Board (ACWDB) in the amount of $400,000 and from the State of California Workforce Development Board (State Board) in the amount of $750,000 to support targeted career initiatives aimed at enhancing career opportunities in the Marine Trades, Water TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Ashleigh Kanat
City Administrator Director, Economic &
Workforce Development
Department
SUBJECT: Marine Trades & Water
Transportation Career Initiative and
BayTech Career Initiative
DATE: June 21, 2024
City Administrator Approval Date: Jul 2, 2024
Jestin Johnson (Jul 2, 2024 11:42 PDT)
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Marine Trades & Water Transportation Career Initiative and BayTech Career Initiative Date: June 21, 2024 Page 2
City Council
July 16, 2024
Transportation (Marine Trades), and Information Technology (IT) sectors respectively. Staff is recommending that City Council adopt a resolution to authorize funding and enter into grant agreements with competitively selected service providers detailed in the report below.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Marine Trades and Water Transportation Career Initiative The ACWDB was awarded $3,933,848.30 by the State Board’s High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) Resilient Workforce Fund Grant. As such, ACWDB is the fiscal lead to provide continued resources to regional plans that advance the goals of the State Board’s strategic plan and build workforce system infrastructure and capacity through collaboration, innovation, and sustainability.
The Marine Trades and Water Transportation Careers (Marine Trades) Initiative includes the Workforce Development Boards of the County of Alameda, Contra Costa County, and the City.
The intent and purpose of this Marine Trades Initiative is to establish career pathways, training, and job placement opportunities in the local marine industry. It is also an expressed goal and required element of the initiative to perform targeted outreach and recruitment to priority populations within underserved communities. Target communities include the following populations: English language learners, homeless and housing insecure, justice-involved individuals, individuals with disabilities, Veterans, youth, immigrants/refugees, low-income workers, and under-resourced communities.
The Friends of the Port will serve as the Maritime Industry Navigator to align services and leverage workforce resources across the region for the Marine Career Initiative. The role of the Maritime Industry Navigator is to lead the maritime sector coordination, establish a maritime academy including coordinating the delivery of training services and develop employment and career exposure and placement opportunities across the region.
BayTech Career Initiative
In June 2022, the City was awarded the Workforce Accelerator 10 grant in the amount of $500,000 from the State Board to provide a paid skills-building bridge and work experience program that connects participants to post-secondary education, or work experience in the tech sector.
Expanding on Workforce Accelerator 10, the BayTech Career Initiative prepares participants for competitive careers in the IT industry and other sectors with IT needs. This initiative focuses aims to establish an IT employer advisory committee to meet the demand for skilled tech professionals across the East Bay.
Workforce Accelerator 12 looks to develop and implement programs that incorporate High Road Strategies that include:
• Improving job quality and job access with a focus on people from underserved and underrepresented populations, including women, single parents, and communities of color.
• Meeting the skill and profitability needs of employers. • Meeting the economic, social, and environmental needs of the community.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Marine Trades & Water Transportation Career Initiative and BayTech Career Initiative Date: June 21, 2024 Page 3
City Council
July 16, 2024
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Staff recommends approving resolutions accepting grant funds for the initiatives below and approving contracts with the recommended grant recipients to implement the programs. These proposed resolutions meet the Citywide priorities of housing, cultural and economic security by continuing the critical work of our workforce system partners.
Marine Trades and Water Transportation Career Initiative On April 29, 2024, the City was awarded ACWB funding in the amount of $400,000 for the Marine Trades Initiative, a multi-year regional partnership of the Oakland Workforce Development Board (OWDB), the Contra Costa Workforce Development Board and the City of Richmond Workforce Development Board. Collectively, these boards seek to work with community-based organizations (CBOs) through subcontracts to outreach, recruit, enroll, case manage and prepare job seekers for training and job placement into maritime careers.
The Maritime Industry Navigator will establish and deliver short -term training and job placement services from the referring CBOs. Additionally, the Maritime Industry Navigator will engage and manage industry partnerships with Bay Area marine/water transportation employers. The Maritime Industry Navigator will lead an industry advisory board which will include organized labor and maritime businesses to inform both training standards and establish prevailing wage employment opportunities. It is expected that participating businesses will become signatories to a First -Source Hiring Agreement that will require good -faith efforts to hire economically disadvantaged individuals for new entry level positions.
The Marine Career Initiative seeks to enroll 300 participants over a two-year period to participate in short-term focused training that rapidly prepares them for entry into the marine trades and water transportation careers. It is anticipated that programing will begin April 1, 2024 and continue through March 31, 2026 and will focus on prioritizing individuals who reside in the following priority zip codes: 94621, 94603, 94605, 94601, 94607.
BayTech Career Initiative
On May 28, 2024, the City was awarded $750,000 from the State Board Workforce Accelerator Fund 12 Grant. These funds will allow for the OWDB to further expand upon the Workforce Accelerator Fund 10’s funded initiative, the East Bay Youth Technology Apprenticeship program to prepare participants for competitive careers within the IT industry and other sectors with IT needs. The expanded initiative which includes the HRTP focus, is now called The BayTech Career Initiative project, and it aims to establish an IT employer advisory committee to meet the demand for skilled tech professionals across the East Bay ensuring participants are well- prepared for the evolving demands of the workforce.
The grant term for Accelerator 12 is 21 months and runs from June 24, 2024 through March 31, 2026.
Grant Agreements
Staff is recommending that the City Council authorize grant agreements for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024-2026 with two 1-year options to extend, with the following service providers, who have been competitively selected to implement the aforementioned workforce development initiatives (Contracted service providers were competitively procured through the FY 2022-25 OWDB Workforce Servicews Request for Proposal (RFP) process, described in File #: 22-0516 and approved by Resolution No.89309 C.M.S adopted on July 5, 2022).
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Marine Trades & Water Transportation Career Initiative and BayTech Career Initiative Date: June 21, 2024 Page 4
City Council
July 16, 2024
Lao Family Community Development Inc.: Grant Amount: $730,833 Lao Family Community Development Inc. will manage and implement programs associated with both the Marine Trades Initiative and the IT career development programs. Their extensive experience in community development and workforce training will be instrumental in achiev ing the goals of these initiatives.
The Spanish Speaking Unity Council: Grant Amount: $100,000 The Spanish Speaking Unity Council will focus on outreach and support within the Fruitvale area, ensuring access to career opportunities in marine trades, water transportation. Their involvement is crucial for inclusive participation and equitable access to the career opportunities provided by these initiatives.
The West Oakland Job Resource Center: Grant Amount: $200,000 The West Oakland Job Resource Center will provide targeted job training and placement services within the West Oakland area, leveraging their expertise to connect local residents with new career opportunities in marine trades, water transportation. Their services will include job readiness training, resume workshops, and employer engagement activities.
FISCAL IMPACT
The acceptance and appropriation of an additional $1,150,000 in grant funds will enable the City to advance its workforce development objectives efficiently and effectively, with no adverse impact on the City's existing budget. This strategic investment in human capital is expected to yield significant returns in terms of job creation, skill development, and community empowerment.
The ACWDB will provide $400,000 to support the Marine Trades Initiative, aimed at creating robust career pathways and job opportunities in the marine and water transportation sectors.
Funding for this initiative will be budgeted in Workforce Investment Act Fund (2195), Workforce Development Organization (85311), Project to be determined.
The State Board will contribute $750,000 to expand the BayTech Career Initiative, which focuses on preparing young people for careers in theIT sector. Funding for this initiative will be budgeted in Workforce Investment Act Fund (2195), Workforce Development Organization (85311), Project to be determined.
These funds will be allocated as follows: $730,833 to Lao Family Community Development Inc. for their role in managing and implementing both the marine and IT career development programs; $100,000 to The Spanish Speaking Unity Council for their outreach and support efforts in the Fruitvale area, ensuring equitable access to these career opportunities; and $200,000 to The West Oakland Job Resource Center, which will provide job training and placement services in the West Oakland area.
A portion of the grants, approximately $119,167, will be utilized to cover administrative costs, which include the City’s expenses for overseeing and managing these programs. This allocation represents about 10.36% of the total grant amount, ensuring that the bulk of the funds are directed towards programmatic activities and direct services. City expenses will be budgeted in Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Marine Trades & Water Transportation Career Initiative and BayTech Career Initiative Date: June 21, 2024 Page 5
City Council
July 16, 2024
Workforce Investment Act Fund (2195), Workforce Development Organization (85311), Project to be determined.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
OWDB meetings are publicly noticed and there is active public participation in both committees and full OWDB meetings. Prior to issuing RFPs for developing the workforce system, the OWDB staff met with community stakeholders to inform the policy principles and conceptual frameworks for service models. Contracted service providers were competitively procured through the FY 2022-25 RFP process, described in File #: 22-0516 and approved by Resolution No.89309 C.M.S adopted on July 5, 2022.
COORDINATION
Service providers were competitively procured through the OWDB Workforce Services FY 2022- 25 RFP process supported by the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards.
Additionally, Workforce Development staff in the Economic and Workforce Development Department also worked closely with the City Attorney’s Office for counsel and advice on matters such as proper noticing, board process, and conflicts of interest.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Oakland’s Workforce Development system provides qualified workers, including youth, for Oakland businesses and prepares Oakland residents for gainful employment and career paths leading to family sustaining jobs.
Environmental: This report does not directly address environmental sustainability.
Race & Equity: Oakland’s Workforce Development system prioritizes services to targeted geographic areas of Oakland (East and West), that have the highest numbers of residents from historically disadvantaged communities, such as African American and Latinx, who face disproportionately high levels of unemployment. Per the 2020 OWDB Race and Equity Analysis, the Workforce Development division identified critical disparities in employment access in Oakland, specifically in “[t]he communities of East Oakland, Fruitvale, and West Oakland, where a high number of Black and Latinx residents live and are unemployed at higher rates than the general population...including the zip codes 94621, 94603, 94605, 94601,94607.”
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt a Resolution:
(1) Accepting And Appropriating Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000) from Alameda County Workforce Development Board To Support The Marine Trades & Water Transportation Career Initiative;
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Marine Trades & Water Transportation Career Initiative and BayTech Career Initiative Date: June 21, 2024 Page 6
City Council
July 16, 2024
(2) Accepting and Appropriating Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000) From The State Of California’s Workforce Development Board Workforce Accelerator Fund To Increase Information Technology Career Opportunities for Young People; and (3) Authorizing Grant Agreements In A Total Amount Not To Exceed One Million One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($1,150,000) With The Following Service Providers Competitively Selected For Fiscal Years 2024-2026:
(a) Lao Family Community Development Inc. In An Amount Not To Exceed Seven Hundred Thirty Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty-Three Dollars ($730,833); (b) The Spanish Speaking Unity Council In An Amount Not To Exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000); and
(c) The West Oakland Job Resource Center In An Amount Not To Exceed Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000).
For questions regarding this report, please contact Sofia Navarro, Executive Director, Oakland Workforce Development Board at (510) 238-3474.
Respectfully submitted,
Ashleigh Kanat
Ashleigh Kanat (Jun 27, 2024 14:03 PDT)
Ashleigh Kanat
Director, Economic and Workforce
Development
Reviewed by:
Sofia Navarro, Executive Director, Oakland
Workforce Development Board
Prepared by:
Honorata Lindsay, ASM II
Workforce Development, Economic and
Workforce Development