Working with students, educators, and employers
to develop a strong workforce for our region
Learn more about the initiative in the video below:
Thank you to Lucid Sound and Picture for producing this great video.


MONTEREY BAY CAREER CONNECT
Bringing local answers for local students
With Monterey Bay Career Coach, students are able to choose appropriate educational options aligned to promising local careers, counselors are able to access a user-friendly website to efficiently support student program and career planning, and college faculty can easily align curricula, certificates, and degrees with up-to-date employer needs.
We visualize our future with a well-educated community where every child realizes their full learning potential; every child is prepared to enter school, is supported in and out of school to achieve academically, where every young adult attains a college degree or credential, and successfully enters a career path offering a lifetime of value.

MONTEREY BAY INTERNSHIPS
Connecting employers to students, connecting students to employers
Monterey Bay Internships provides a way for students to gain valuable job experience while attending college or university and gives local employers access to talent here at home. Employers from all industries – health care, agriculture, finance, government, and more – can post paid and unpaid internship opportunities free of charge. Students from all educational institutions – Cabrillo College, CSU Monterey Bay, Hartnell College, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Monterey Peninsula College, UC Santa Cruz, and Gavilan College – have easy access to these internships, can upload their resumés and get experience in their area of study. Students learn on the job and grow, and employers can hire interns to help meet the needs of our local business community.

STUDENT AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
Ready for an opportunity to engage with a triple-bottom, region-wide, impact-driven organization?
Student Ambassadors are 2nd, 3rd or 4th year or graduate students enrolled at a higher education institution in the Monterey Bay region (San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties) who participate in work-based learning at Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) with the opportunity to earn a stipend or academic credit.
MBEP’s goal is to offer meaningful work and research experience to local students in the region. MBEP, founded in 2015, is a regional nonprofit, membership-based organization consisting of public, private and civic entities whose mission is to improve the economic health and quality of life in the region. We are a data- and results-driven organization with a values-based, startup work culture.

CAREER PATHWAYS
MBEP partnered with Bright Futures Education Partnership to support existing career pathways and foster tri-county strategic advancement of future career pathway design. With initial support from the Lumina Foundation, a regional career pathway master plan was created which is enabling shared strategies to further expand pathways, enhance future regional grant opportunities and offer more robust options for career seekers. To review a sample career pathway, click here.
Education Resources
Education and Workforce Development
At the center of a strong future workforce is education for our students and how well they are prepared to enter the workforce. A strong education today will ensure a vibrant and skilled future workforce capable of meeting the needs of a changing world. A well-educated workforce is critical to having a strong regional economy.
Bright Futures Education Partnership
California School Dashboard
For an in-depth look into the performance of the schools in the Monterey Bay Region, EdSource provides the California School Dashboard. The easy to use dashboard summarizes measures of achievements for each school based on data and reports from the California Department of Education.
Please visit the site here or click on the image below to search for schools in the region to explore the following indicators:
- Chronic Absenteeism
- College/Career Readiness Indicator
- Suspension Rates
- English Language Arts Performance
- Math Performance
- High School Graduation Rate
Ed-Data
Ed-Data is a partnership of the California Department of Education, EdSource, and the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team/California School Information Services (FCMAT/CSIS) designed to offer educators, policymakers, the legislature, parents, and the public quick access to timely and comprehensive data about K-12 education in California. See the stats for Monterey Bay region:
- Monterey County School Districts
- Santa Cruz County School Districts
- San Benito County School Districts
This data story explores both access to and participation in CTE in high school, as well as the outcomes of students who concentrate their studies in CTE, using national and state-level data from the Department.
Higher Education
Higher Education Overview
The Monterey Bay region is known for strong programs in higher education and research, with unique combinations of talent and language, and a broad spectrum of curriculum. The area boasts multiple institutions of higher learning, wildlife and marine-related reserves, and several government agencies, each one contributing to an extensive research environment. In addition, language programs ranging from community college to the graduate level are available in the region, graduate business programs, law schools, and a public policy institute.
Higher Education Institutions & College Scorecard
The College Scorecard provided by the U.S. Department of Education offers data and factors about higher education in the United States that is important to prospective students. Click on the links below to view information on each college website in the Monterey Bay Region and the College Scorecard summary:
- Brandman University To learn more visit Brandman University Academic Programs page. For more information about Brandman University’s Graduate and Professional Enrollment, visit the Consumer Information page. View Brandman University’s Scorecard.
- Cabrillo College Visit Cabrillo College’s Academic Programs page for information on academic and career programs. View Cabrillo College’s Scorecard.
- Central Coast College Learn more about Central Coast College’s Programs and view the School Performance Fact Sheets.
- CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) For Recent Rankings view CSUMB’s Admissions page. For more information about CSUMB majors and programs, visit the Academics page. Learn about CSUMB’s Centers & Institutes. View CSU Monterey Bay’s Scorecard.
- Defense Language Institute (DLI) Learn more about DLI’s programs on the Academics page.
- Gavilan College View classes offered at Gavilan College’s Hollister Site. Learn more about Gavilan College’s Academic Departments and Programs. View Gavilan College’s Scorecard.
- Hartnell College For program information, visit Hartnell’s Academics page. View Hartnell College’s Scorecard.
- Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) For more information on MIIS programs, see MIIS Academics page. For career statistics, visit the MIIS Career Outcomes page. View MIIS’s Scorecard.
- Monterey College of Law (MCL) For a list of degrees offered, visit MCL’s Admissions page.
- Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) For program information, visit MPC’s All Degree and Programs page. View MPC’s Scorecard.
- Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Learn more about programs on NPS’s Academic page.
- UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) For more information about UCSC undergraduate admissions statistics, please visit the UC Santa Cruz Statistics page. View Achievements page. For information on degree programs, visit Academics. View UC Santa Cruz’s Scorecard.
Research Labs
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: Map of Regional Marine Research Institutes provides a map showing the locations of more than 50 marine research institutions and private groups around the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Among them are the following:
- Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University
- Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
- NOAA National Marine Sanctuary
- Naval Research Laboratory Marine Meteorology Division
Research & Public Policy Institutes
- Defense Language Institute
- The Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy
- Panetta Institute for Public Policy
- Monterey Bay Education, Science, and Technology Center
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute
Community Colleges: Data Mart & Transfer Information
The California Colleges Chancellor’s Office provides Management Information Systems Data Mart, a site that provides reports on California’s community colleges, including a deeper dive into:
- Students/Headcounts
- Enrollment Status
- Education Status
- Full-time Equivalent Student Counts
- Financial Aid
- Enrollment Retention and Success rate
- Grade Distribution
- Program Awards
- Faculty & Staff demographics
- Student Transfers
Visit California Community College Transfers to the California State University System view additional information on:
- California Community College Transfers By Concentration, Ethnicity, Gender, and Campus of Origin
- California Community College Transfers By Institution of Origin
Community Colleges: Data Mart & Transfer Information
Bay Area Community College Consortium (BACCC)
BACCC is comprised of the 28 colleges surrounding the San Francisco and Monterey Bays as serves as a framework to:
- Enhance the coordination of regional programs
- Increase collaboration on regional priorities
- Serve as a link between colleges Career Technical Education programs, Economic and Workforce Development Initiatives, and the Chancellor’s Office
University of California: Information Center
Explore the UC story through data available on the University of California’s Information Center:
- Degree Outcomes
- Diversity
- Faculty and Staff
- Graduate Experience
- Institutional Performance
- Research and Innovation
- UC in Your Community
- Undergraduate Experience
Workforce Development & Industry Data
Workforce Development Overview
Workforce Development Boards (WDB) in the Monterey Bay region have provided reports on their county’s workforce trends:
Monterey County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Reports & Surveys
Santa Cruz County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Reports & Surveys
San Benito County Workforce Development Board 2 Year Report
California Community Colleges Strong Workforce Program
Among the activities of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the programs of the Division of Workforce & Economic Development bridge the skills and jobs to match and prepare California’s workforce for 21st-century careers. Learn more about their Strong Workforce Program guidance, planning, labor market research, career education program outcomes, directories, and workforce recognition.
Economic Analysis Tool
The State of California Employment Development Department provides an interactive map and data table tool to provide information on Regional Economic Analysis Profiles.