Maud Daudon speaking at the launch of the CCW strategy in 2018 at Kaiser Permanente.

Dear friends,

As Career Connect Washington (CCW) turns five years old, I want to thank everyone who has helped turn our work from a concept into a real, statewide system for career connected learning and to reflect on our successes.

Together, we have enabled 16,000 young people under the age of 30 to “earn and learn” in Career Launch programs, which give students paid work experience and a meaningful industry credential or at least a year’s worth of college credit.

We have created more than 180 Career Launch programs – including 70 new registered apprenticeships – in high-demand sectors such as technology, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.

We have attracted nearly $30 million of federal grants with the Good Jobs Challenge and Apprenticeship Building America, allowing CCW to scale and build out a statewide system even more rapidly.

And we have developed a statewide directory of career connected learning opportunities at the Career Launch, Career Prep, and Career Explore levels, including registered apprenticeship, to help young people find opportunities in their communities.

Over the last five years, the initiative has been in “build” mode – working to align many partners and create new educational pathways for students and talent solutions for employers. Now, the initiative is ready to move into “sustain and grow” mode.

Our work will be led by four already engaged and active partner organizations:

  • The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) will coordinate across state government and report regularly on progress to the Workforce Education Investment (WEIA) Board.
  • WSAC will work in partnership with the Employment Security Department, which will continue to administer CCW grants.
  • The Washington Roundtable (WRT) now staffs a full-time industry engagement director. WRT is working closely with the Association for Washington Business (AWB) and the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) to ensure the representation of industry voice in CCW leadership.
  • Washington STEM is currently the implementation partner, supporting the Regional Networks and Sector Leaders to align and grow programs, as well as leading the data and equity work.

Starting July 2024, these four organizations will make up a new four-member, public-private partnership leadership team that will coordinate CCW at the statewide level to support all the many CCW partners working across the state. This public-private leadership structure – with two state agencies and two private organizations – is meant to mirror the design of CCW, which is built on public-private partnerships regionally all over the state.

These new leaders have been working side by side with the current leadership team since January and will officially take over at the beginning of July. Unofficially, this team is already leading. With this team now in place, I will step away from the work at the end of June with confidence that CCW remains in excellent hands and will continue to grow and innovate in the years ahead.

More personally, CCW has been inspiring and fulfilling. In my conversations with participating young people, I am struck by how they feel agency in their futures and are motivated to continue with their education and careers. CCW is central to achieving our goal in Washington that 70% of young people will attain a credential or degree to be able to participate in our strong and growing economy. In sum, it is a win for young people, a win for employers, and a win for Washington State.

I look forward to watching CCW grow to make Washington the place where each young person has a chance to explore, prepare and launch themselves on a path into the real world.

Best,

Maud Daudon
Executive Leader, Career Connect Washington