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Mayor Eric Garcetti launched L.A. College Promise Works on Thursday, a new initiative connecting community college students to career coaching, skills training and paid employment opportunities.

The program seeks to build a sustainable, equity-driven employment pipeline that connects students to high-quality jobs and to career pathways in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, according to the mayor’s office.

“COVID-19 has forced us all to make sacrifices in our jobs, homes, and lives, but our students should never have to sacrifice their education, their job prospects, or their futures,” Garcetti said. “With L.A. College Promise Works, our young people won’t have to make a choice between going to school and pursuing a career — and we will be their partners in forging a strong foundation of equity, opportunity, and success for our city, our economy, and all Angelenos.”

L.A. College Promise Works will open 500 subsidized job placements in a variety of industries, including media and entertainment, tech, healthcare, real estate, transportation, green industries, and early childhood education and care. 

The positions are supported by the city’s Hire L.A.’s Youth program, which was expanded by a motion to reallocate $10 million from the Los Angeles Police Department’s budget to workforce development programs, the mayor’s office said.

Additional paid employment opportunities will be in direct partnership with private sector and nonprofit partners, including companies like BMG and nonprofits like Project Destined.

There will be support career coaches on all nine L.A. Community College campuses to help students navigate campus resources, offer career advice, provide training and to find paid internships and permanent positions, as well as a program manager on Garcetti’s staff.

The new program builds on L.A. College Promise, which Garcetti launched in 2016 to provide all L.A. Unified School District graduates with free tuition at L.A.’s community colleges. 

Students interested in L.A. College Promise Works can visit LACollegePromise.org/LACPWorks. Employers interested in becoming a partner of the program can contact Andres Cuervo, L.A. College Promise Works manager, at Andres.Cuervo@lacity.org.

The program is the product of a partnership between the mayor’s office, the L.A. Community College District, the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles and the city’s Workforce Development System.