Employment Training Industry Clusters

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Retail:

The work2future Industry Clusters Initiative for Retail centers on our activities in support of the "outlet" stores in the City of Gilroy, along side of Highway #101. With approximately 2400 new jobs being created during the 2004 calendar year, work2future developed an entry-level, employer-driven project in partnership with the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation and the Small Business Development Center of Gavilan College. Approximately 200 local residents have already availed themselves of the work2future -supported training that prepares participants for the retail trades with information on the industry, career ladders, and salary expectations. In order to ensure fidelity to the needs of the local employer community, work2future staff periodically meets with a reprehensive group of outlet employers to receive their feedback on the success of our training.

Healthcare:

In partnership with Goodwill Industries of Santa Clara County, work2future's Industry Clusters Initiative has developed training for environmental technicians and other entry-level healthcare workers. This short-term training, centered in the San Jose area, prepares participants for jobs in the major hospitals, such as Kaiser and Valley Medical Center, as well as smaller, health care clinics and providers.

Hospitality:

San Jose State University's Hospitality Management Department, in partnership with Evergreen Community College's Institute for Business Performance, and several local community-based organizations and training vendors, has developed a unique hospitality training course that centers on several "modules" of training that covers an introduction to the hospitality industry; basics of customer service; as well as skills training in culinary services, and hotel "front desk," reservations, etc. This Industry Cluster project was developed in cooperation with several large Santa Clara county hotels, including The Doubletree, The Sheraton/Four Point, The Hilton chain, and the Marriott.

Financial Services:

The financial services Industry Cluster project, still in the development stages, is the result of in-put and collaboration with several large banks, including the Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Comerica; as well as the Valley Credit Union and the San Jose Credit Union. The goal of the project being developed is to train highly qualified individuals for careers in the financial industry, and to dramatically reduce the turnover rate of new employees.

Software & Bio-Science:

work2future staff is in the pre-development stage of projects in these two areas, and will move forward with the assistance of the Industry Cluster Advisory Group.