California’s $49B higher ed budget proposal prioritizes worker training
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
May 17, 2021
Dive Brief:
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget plan released Friday would invest nearly $49 billion in the state’s public colleges and emphasize workforce development as a tool for pandemic recovery.
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Notably, the proposal provides more than $433 million to designate Humboldt State University as a polytechnic institution, which the state said would help prepare students to work in high-demand fields.
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States are partnering with colleges on worker training initiatives they hope will help their economies heal from the pandemic.
Dive Insight:
The leaders of California’s three public postsecondary systems praised the proposal, which is larger than the one Newsom made in January. It includes several large investments in training students to meet the state’s workforce demands.
The plan would invest a one-time $1 billion between 2021-22 and 2022-23 to establish a career development program for the state systems. This initiative would help link campuses with employers, which would provide students with “learning-aligned opportunities” related to their fields of study.
