UNITE-LA’s National Strategic Partnerships team, in partnership with ACCE, launched its sixth Complete Skills-Based Hiring Lifecycle Training, made possible with support from The Rework America Alliance: A Jobs for the Future Initiative.

UNITE-LA conducted a series of exclusive, confidential interviews with a diverse range of affinity business organizations as part of our California Accessing Economic Mobility Initiative, aimed at advancing economic mobility for the state's low-income workers.

Last month, UNITE-LA hosted a dynamic Education Means Business webinar, “Shaping the Future: How the New Administration Will Impact Education and Workforce Development.” The webinar included an incredible group of thought leaders discussing what the future holds for students, families and communities as we all navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead, together.

UNITE-LA participated in the first meeting of the Cradle-to-Career Data System (C2C) Workforce Data Task Force, where members reviewed new workforce research questions and metrics proposed for inclusion in C2C by California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

While we are only two months into 2025, we recognize how challenging this year has already been. From the impact of the L.A. County fires to the impact of the new federal administration, it has been overwhelming for so many of us, our partners and certainly the communities we serve.

With support from the Anthony & Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation, UNITE-LA’s Systems and Research and Evaluation teams executed an ambitious project identifying and vetting metrics to track key outcomes for Transition Age Youth (TAY). Ultimately, research will address critical data gaps by consolidating education, workforce and social metrics into a comprehensive dashboard to drive data-informed decision-making and accountability for 16-24-year-old foster youth.

The Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL) continues to drive progress in Los Angeles County by addressing digital equity challenges. To support this effort, we partnered with LAEDC’s Institute of Applied Economics (IAE) to develop a comprehensive data portal, dashboard and heatmap, accessible via ArcGIS Dashboards. The dashboard provides key metrics for tracking digital equity and broadband adoption across the county. Our goal is to empower municipal leaders to use the data dashboard for broadband policy development and digital divide-focused projects.

The Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL) consortium is a collaborative, community-driven organization assessing and addressing existing broadband gaps across the Los Angeles region. With support from the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), LA DEAL helped 10 Los Angeles County municipalities—including South El Monte, Rosemead, Palmdale, Maywood, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Inglewood, Bellflower, Bell and Artesia—secure $200,000 in digital inclusion grants. Funds allowed each community to participate in a “Local Government Best Practices Checklist Learning Community” during fall 2024.

As co-convener and project manager of the Community Schools Steering Committee (CSSC), UNITE-LA continued to advance equity, innovation and continuous improvement throughout 2024. UNITE-LA supported L.A. Unified’s Community Schools Initiative (CSI) in securing $8.55 million in grant funding to strengthen implementation, conducted empathy interviews to leverage data to identify and address evolving needs, and facilitated collaboration across systems and partners by launching the Alliance for Opportunity (AFO). These efforts equipped the CSI with the necessary resources and support to thrive. This work will continue to expand as the CSSC designated the sixth cohort of community schools in December.