From the Classroom to the Career: How Local Employers Are Powering the Skills Lab

 

 

 

Designed to connect classroom learning with real-world opportunity, the iINNOVATE Regional Skills Lab is gaining momentum across the Central Coast thanks to strong partnerships with local employers who see the value in investing early.

“This isn’t just about education—it’s about the workforce,” says Melissa James, President & CEO of REACH. “The Skills Lab is part of a larger strategy to align economic development with talent development, starting in the K–12 system.”

Each month, more than 13,000 students across 35 schools receive a new, hands-on STEM lesson tied to one of seven regional priority sectors, including aerospace, agtech, clean energy, and healthcare. These lessons don’t just teach skills—they spotlight real careers through video stories and activities built in partnership with local employers.

Companies like Adventist Health, Trust Automation, and Kitchell are helping shape the experience by contributing time, insight, and on-the-ground access to their industries.

“Programs like the Skills Lab help students connect the dots between what they learn in school and how it applies in the real world,” says Ty Safreno, CEO of Trust Automation. “When they get hands-on with robotics or automation tools, they’re not just exploring technology—they’re beginning to see themselves as problem solvers, engineers, innovators.”

Shannon Downing, CSO at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, sees the same kind of impact. “Healthcare is so much broader than what most students imagine. From surgical techs to IT, data analytics to patient care, there are incredible careers available right here in our region—and the Skills Lab helps students discover that earlier than ever.”

That’s the vision driving the Skills Lab: a future where students can thrive in careers they can see, understand, and imagine themselves in—right in their own community.

When schools, communities, and industries come together, the result is powerful. The Skills Lab is proving just how far that partnership can go.