The California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) is the Governor’s agent for the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce development system. The CWDB assists the Governor in setting and guiding workforce development policy, developing innovative initiatives through statewide programs, and expanding the High Road vision through its field branch. The workforce development system is comprised of 45 Local Workforce Development Areas (Local Area), each with its own business-led Local Workforce Development Board (Local Board). These Local Boards work together with the state and their local Chief Elected Officials to oversee the delivery of workforce services relevant to their residents and businesses. The California Unemployment Insurance Code §14200 – §14531 and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) give authority to CWDB to carry out the tasks associated with furthering a High Road workforce system. Learn more about the CWDB in the About Us section.

California and the CWDB are committed to a High Road vision for the state’s workforce development system that embodies the principles of job quality, worker voice, equity, and environmental sustainability. Implementing this vision through policy, programs, and other practices will benefit workers, job-seekers, and industry as well as the state’s workforce development system.

Upcoming Funding

Featured Workforce Initiatives

High Road

High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) and High Road Construction Careers (HRCC) a systemic approach to industry-based workforce development addressing critical issues of equity, job quality, worker voice, and environmental sustainability.

CAAL Skills

An interagency and multi-departmental data-sharing and program evaluation initiative that uses detailed information from federal and state-funded workforce, education, and human services programs to measure participation and associated outcomes for program participants.

Regional CA

Work to stimulate economic growth, create jobs and build the talent needed to increase income mobility and regional prosperity through collaboration among multiple workforce systems and bringing workforce leaders together.

Prison to Employment

Creates opportunities through collaborative partnerships with state workforce programs and the state corrections systems so that formerly incarcerated and justice-involved individuals can successfully reenter society and the labor force.

Workforce Accelerator Fund

Funds projects that design, develop, and implement programs that accelerate employment and provide access to workforce services and employment opportunities for targeted groups and disadvantaged populations.

HIRE

Increases employment opportunities and job mobility for formerly incarcerated and justice-involved individuals through partnerships with reentry-focused organizations that provide training, reskilling and upskilling, and supportive services.

Breaking Barriers

Supplements existing workforce and education programs by providing services to target populations who are often not eligible for other state and federal programs in an effort to address disparities in the labor market.

Coming Soon

Initiative Coming Soon

In the Spotlight

Temecula, CA —The Empowerment Center (TEC), a community-based organization in Temecula, CA, is responding to the critical shortage of mental health professionals in the Inland Empire, which is affecting disadvantaged populations’ access to services. TEC is tackling this issue through a holistic approach to community health worker training. Read more.

Gabrielle McClanahan was born and raised in the Inland Empire and has been connected to The Empowerment Center (TEC) in all stages of her life. As a young child, her parents benefited from supportive services like mental health services, housing assistance, financial literacy coaching, and the Youth Leadership Academy. Read more.

Jasmin Duran knew there was a healthier life outside of the reservation she called home. As a single pregnant mother with limited formal education, Jasmin described a life built around low-quality employment, including long commutes to work, minimal career development, and low wages that would make providing for her new baby a daily struggle. Read more.

Corey Lewis grew up in Chicago and became a first-generation college graduate after relocating to Southern California. Over a 20-year period, Corey worked various entry-level jobs for Fortune 500 companies. In every position, he carried the weight of unreconciled family trauma and most recently was navigating the residual effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It made him realize that he had another calling. Read more.

CWDB JOB OPENINGS

People participating in a Cannabis training class

Review our available positions below, and visit the CalCareers webpage to learn more about how to apply for a state job.

New to the State – Review the 3 Steps To A State Job webpage and be sure to complete the exam/assessment and state application before applying for this position.

Are you passionate about ending poverty and inequality? Are you motivated to address the climate crisis and social injustice while working on economic and workforce development? If so, you may be a great fit for one of our open positions at the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).

The CWDB is recognized nationally as a progressive and experimental state workforce department, charting a path to a High Road economy and approach to workforce development grounded in the principles of social equity, environmental sustainability, and resilience and quality jobs. Over the past decade, the CWDB’s budget, programs, and staff have grown exponentially using federal and state workforce funding to pilot new sector-based workforce initiatives and develop policy solutions that address the quality and accessibility of jobs in addition to training.

Click Below To View Current CWDB Job Opportunities:

EXECUTIVE TEAM

No jobs openings are currently available in this branch

EQUITY CLIMATE & JOBS FIELDS TEAM

No jobs openings are currently available in this branch

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION & ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT TEAM

No jobs openings are currently available in this branch

POLICY, RESEARCH AND LEGISLATION TEAM

The Policy, Research and Legislation team is hiring for a Reentry Specialist. Under the general direction of the Staff Services Manager II, the Staff Services Manager I (SSM I) Specialist serves as a highly independent, non-supervisory manager, and is responsible for the highest level of information gathering, analysis, decisions, and recommendations on workforce development pertaining to the Corrections Workforce Partnership Agreement (CWPA) for the California Workforce Development Board. In this role, the SSM I Specialist will identify best practices and effective strategies for serving formerly incarcerated and justice involved individuals with successful reentry and employment attainment. Additionally, in conjunction with statewide partners including the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the California Prison Industry Authority (CalPIA), and other state, federal, and local partners, the incumbent will develop/determine labor market outcomes. This includes developing and implementing all the actions necessary to carry out the provisions of the agreement. Learn more: JC-466680

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION & REGIONAL SUPPORT TEAM

No jobs openings are currently available in this branch