North County Job-Readiness Room

North County cities have launched a new program to boost employment opportunities for the region. This pilot program is designed to connect entry-level, excluded, and/or vulnerable workers with basic skills training and connections to key North County employers who are hiring for office administration, manufacturing, hospitality & food service jobs. It is free for candidates and businesses to participate. We only ask that employers who participate in this program guarantee a job interview for candidates.

How it Works

The cities of Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, and Vista have partnered with several amazing organizations to bring this program forward.

1. Lightcast - a labor market analytics firm - identifies key North County industries that are hiring and the skillset needed to work in those industries.
2. Bendable - an online course curator from the Drucker Institute - provides customized training pathways for those key industries and tracks progress.
3. North County Libraries - libraries provide access to those training pathways at Library locations across North County and online.
4. North County Business Organizations - the Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, and Vista Chambers of Commerce and the San Diego North EDC are engaging North County employers in this program and help connect candidates with businesses and guaranteed interviews.
5. Community Organizations – A number of North County community-based organizations, including Interfaith Community Services, The MAAC Project, MiraCosta College, Equus, San Diego Workforce Partnership, Goodwill Industries, and others help identify candidates that may be a good fit for the program.

Candidates enrolled in the program commit to utilizing these services to take 15-20 hours of self-paced online skills training in office administration, manufacturing, hospitality & food service. Upon completion, they receive a micro-credential and are flagged for our business organizations to make introductions to North County employers. Job seekers can sign up here. 

Value to North County Employers

Employers have told us how difficult it is to find entry level workers, especially in this tight labor market. The Job-Readiness Room provides candidates, who for whatever reason may have had difficulty finding work, with 15-20 hours of basic skills training and connectivity to employers who are struggling to find workers. This gives North County employers in key industries access to workers they may not have previously considered, at no cost. By participating in the program, candidates are demonstrating commitment on the front end and we hope that employers find these candidates to be ready and eager to work, capable of doing the job, and committed to being good employees.

There is no obligation to hire a candidate through the Job-Readiness Room. But we do ask that employers who participate guarantee to provide interviews for a limited number of candidates. Employers can also opt-in to providing feedback and tracking the success of candidates that come to them via the Job-Readiness Room.

Employers can sign up now to participate in this free program!