Eight Solano Community College (SCC) programs were recently named as California Community Colleges 2018 Strong Workforce Stars career education programs.

The 2018 Strong Workforce Stars were named within the 114-college system as career education programs whose students show significant gains in factors important in building a skilled workforce and advancing personal social mobility. Student program outcomes include a substantial increase in earnings, attainment of a living wage and placement in a job closely matched with their field of study.

Programs were ranked as Gold Star, Silver Star and Bronze Star programs, with a total of 1,384 community colleges receiving a designation. All 114 colleges have at least one program receiving recognition.

Solano’s Fire Technology and Registered Nursing programs were among the 294 Silver Stars awarded, while the college’s Accounting, Applied Biotechnology, Automotive Technician, Cosmetology, Human Services and Water and Wastewater Technology programs earned one of the 975 Bronze Stars.

Strong Workforce Stars can be viewed in the Workforce Recognition eShowcase on the California Community Colleges’ Doing What MATTERS for Jobs and the Economy website. All recognized programs are listed, along with the name of their college and the criteria for which they received recognition.

Additionally, the California Community Colleges has also re-launched the popular Salary Surfer website with updated data and new resources. Students and families can “surf” the site to explore estimated salary information for a wide range of occupations, based on recent California Community Colleges graduates’ salaries. New to the site are more than 100 career highlight videos that serve as a valuable exploration tool for students and families to visualize a future in various careers, including career education fields. Together, these two online resources allow students to explore diverse careers to help students and their families make informed decisions about their college education and career choices, as well as check to see which of their local community college programs has been recognized for student outcomes.

“Exemplary outcomes are a reason for celebration,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “We want every student to find success in the world of work when they come through the doors of our colleges. These resources support the goals we have articulated in our Vision for Success, which seeks to improve student outcomes and advance social and economic mobility.”

The California Community Colleges is the state’s primary system for delivering career education, helping to lift low-wage workers into living-wage jobs and fueling regions with skilled workers needed by employers. Career education programs are at the center of a statewide effort to produce 1,000,000 middle-skilled workers by 2026, with work in the area being bolstered by the state’s Strong Workforce Program, an annual recurring investment of $200 million to increase the number of students enrolled in career education programs in demand by regional labor markets.

About California Community Colleges

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 72 districts and 114 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. California community colleges provide career education and workforce training; guaranteed transfer to four-year universities; degree and certificate pathways; and basic skills education in English and math. As the state’s engine for social and economic mobility, the California Community Colleges supports the Vision for Success, a strategic plan designed to improve student success outcomes, increase transfer rates and eliminate achievement gaps. For more information, please visit the California Community Colleges website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About Solano Community College

The College has served the community in Solano County since 1945 when it was founded as Vallejo Junior College. In the early 1970s, the College moved to its present Fairfield site, and is presently serving over 8,000 students throughout the academic year.

In addition to the campus in Fairfield, the College has one Center in Vacaville, and one in Vallejo. To further serve the community, SCC offers courses at Travis Air Force Base, and operates a School of Aeronautics at the Nut Tree Airport.

Currently, Solano Community College offers Associate Degrees and Certificates in various disciplines, to include transfer courses to California State Universities (CSU) and Universities of California (UC), and provides training in several trades. Solano will also begin offering a bachelor’s degree in Biomanufacturing in 2017. For more information, please visit us at www.solano.edu.