For Immediate ReleaseSeptember 3, 2014

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson helps launch

LAHI-TECH Consortium, a recipient of a $15 Million California Career Pathway Trust grant for an unprecedented regional effort to prepare tomorrow’s tech workforce

What: LA HI-TECH Regional Consortium emerged in Los Angeles County to strengthen strategic partnerships and career pathway links across five K-12 systems, three community college districts, and a host of industry and community partners that align with the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector.

LA HI-TECH seeks to become the premier training provider for the ICT sector in the region with a focus on three career pathways: Design, Visual and Media Arts; Information Support and Services; and Software Systems and Development.TheICT sector comprises seven percent of the regional economy and is projected to increase to 13 percent in the next decade. There are over 19,000 annual job openings in Los Angeles county - 44 percent of which are considered middle-skill jobs only requiring an associatedegreeor less.

LA HI-TECH is poised to meet the ICT labor market demand by preparing approximately 3,600 high school and community college students in over 56% of ICTmajorsat eight community colleges (Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles Pierce College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Valley College, Pasadena City College, Santa Monica College, and West Los Angeles College), with assistance of 16 initial high schoolpartnersrepresenting five Unified School Districts.

Major partners of LA HI-TECH include Amazon Web Services, HBO West Coast Productions, IATSE, Los Angeles Area Chamber ofCommerce/ Bixel Exchange, Innovate Pasadena, Leaders on Fast Track (LOFT),City of Los Angeles Mayor's Office and 3S Global BusinessSolutions.

Who: Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Valley College, Los Angeles Pierce College, Pasadena City College, Los Angeles Mission College, Santa Monica College, and West Los Angeles College.

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, Culver City Unified School District, Beverly Hills Unified School District, Pasadena Unified School District, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

When: Monday, September 8, 2014, 10:30AM

Where: Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce/Bixel Exchange

350 S. Bixel Street, Bank of America Room

Los Angeles, 90017

Parking:Covered Parking Available

Visit for a complete schedule of activities

MEDIA CONTACTS

Dr. Valerie WardlawAni Okkasian

Pasadena City CollegeLA Area Chamber/Bixel Exchange

626-585-7468213-580-7544

Juliana MedinaJennifer Boruki

LA City CollegeLos Angeles Valley College

818-233-7298818-947-2433

Frank DawsonMichelle Long-Coffee

Santa Monica College West LA College

213-840-7123310-287-4597

Dean Rick Hodge

Los Angeles Southwest Community College

323-241-5533

ABOUT LA HI-TECH

The LA HI-TECH Regional Consortium is an organization committed to strengthening strategic partnerships and career pathway links across five K-12 systems, three community college districts, and a host of industry and community partners that align with the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector. The consortium’s directive is to create a vibrant ecosystem to develop and sustain a highly skilled and competitive workforce that contributes to the economic growth of the region.The Consortium consists of eight (8) community college, sixteen (16) high schools and local businesses. The program will affect approximately three-thousand six-hundred (3600) students linked to three (3) identified career pathways in ICT over a five (5) year period.

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