working together
For Inland Empire Educational & Economic Success
GIA is a regional network of partners focused on improving the economic outlook of the Inland Empire by raising the region’s educational attainment rates.
Toward a Shared Vision 2020
Don’t miss our annual Toward a Shared Vision Conference taking place on September 21-22. Reserve your seat today!
Finding Inspiration Amid the Uncertainty
News & announcements
Toward A Shared Vision: The Importance of Regional Collaboration
Collective Impact Collaboration The COVID19 pandemic has magnified the glaring economic and educational problems in the Inland Empire. Throughout the crisis, regional...
Growing Inland Achievement Announces 2020 Innovation Awards
Growing Inland Achievement (GIA) is pleased to announce our 2020 Innovation Award recipients. Innovation Awards are two-year $150,000 awards provided to organizations with...
Regional Website Launches to Support Inland Empire Class of 2020
The new website helps to connect Inland Empire students with college advising and other critical resources, including technology and basic needs support.Growing Inland...
our challenge & opportunity
The Inland Empire Region
Challenge: The Inland Empire is one of the most populous regions in California, with 4.5 million people, yet its students are less likely to earn college degrees than the average Californian. According to recent data from College Futures Foundation, for every 1,000 high school freshmen in the Inland Empire, only 151 will complete a BA degree. According to Data USA, the result of this is a regional poverty rate of 17.5%, and median household income of $56,087.
Opportunity: The projected workforce demand for Inland students with baccalaureate degrees will outweigh our labor supply by almost 2.3x in the next few years. Increasing the number of students with baccalaureate degrees is the solution. Increased degree attainment will benefit our students and regional businesses by filling the gap in projected bi-county workforce demand while increasing average household income.
The Inland Empire Region
The IE (4,622,361) represents 11.6% of the State’s population (39,557,045), 4.4% less than the Central Valley’s population.
The IE is the nation’s 13th largest metropolitan area. If the IE were a state it would rank 25th in terms of population, just above Kentucky, and rank 40th in terms of area.
SB County alone is the largest county in the contiguous US, and is larger than New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
Increasing our Educational Attainment
The IE produces 12% of California’s college-ready high school graduates…
BUT only 6% of the state’s BA degrees.
And even though the IE is 51% Hispanic, only 10% have a college degree. Both individuals and the labor market need more higher educational opportunities to spur Inland economic success.
The Projected Labor Market Gap
In 2030, California is projected to face a labor market gap of nearly 1.8 million jobs.
Over 1/3 of the 2030 labor market gap is expected to be in three regions, Los Angeles (425k gap), Inland Empire (141k gap) and Central Valley (74k gap).
In the Inland Empire, 43% of the projected unfilled jobs will require a bachelor’s degree.
Working Together on Solutions
We recognize that the best way to close the labor market gap is by increasing the number of bachelor degree conferrals in the region. We also recognize that the most effective way to spur economic success in this way is by partnering with a network of regional and national leaders across sectors and industries to jointly work on solutions.
GIA acts as a connector, researcher, and facilitator to create a network that focuses on issues impacting educational success for Inland students. To solve these educational problems, GIA brings together organizational and institutional leaders through Innovation Awards and Action Network Teams.
GIA REGIONAL GOALS
Educational Policy
Align Educational Policy intiatives regionally via a bi-county cradle-to-career collective impact model.
College Preparedness
Increase college preparedness, particularly in math, resulting in 20% fewer students requiring remediation at matriculation from high school to college within 5 years.
College Completion
Increase the number of student completing AA degrees in 3 years, and BA degrees in 6 years by 10% within 5 years.
Completion of Certificates and Degrees
Increase the number of certificates, associates, and bachelor’s degrees by 15% within 5 years.
Career Readiness
Improve career readiness through strengthened partnership with industry to better align education and workforce development needs.
NEW GOALS BEING ANNOUNCED SOON!
GIA has reached an important 5-year organizational milestone and is excited to unveil five new ambitious and unapologetic regional goals resulting from broad stakeholder feedback and a bold vision set forth by our Board of Directors.
Don’t miss our upcoming Toward a Shared Vision event on September 21-22, as we announce the new goals and host a panel discussion with GIA’s Board of Directors to discuss their importance in our new reality.