(Image Credit: IMAGN) California Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Newsom, listen to students from New College of Florida on Wednesday during Newsom's stop at the Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Public Library in Sarasota on April 5, 2023.
Sacramento, California – The California labor market has a series of complex issues keeping people out of a job, and Governor Gavin Newsom would like to fix that. His new initiative looks to put Californians, especially those in rural parts of the state in high paying positions whether or not they have a college degree or not.
Newsom’s plan hopes to make the process of earning college credit in exchange for real-world experience more streamlined for everyone, especially veterans. The central idea in this plan is what Newsom refers to as “career passports,” or skills-based records that are designed to moves hiring practices away from requiring a degree, creating job opportunities for members of the workforce from different backgrounds.
Speaking about his plan, Newsom said:
The whole idea is we want you to see yourself in this plan. We don’t want anybody to feel excluded. We don’t want to feel like we’re talking down to you or talking past you. This is not about the fact, your life is over if you don’t have a fancy four-year degree. Quite the contrary. That you can thrive, not just survive in this new economy.
As we see the job market shift in the coming years with changes brought by federal tariffs and the response from the global economy, Newsom’s plan could genuinely bring positive change to California. Whether or not the public at large accepts the idea behind “career passports” will have to wait to be seen.
