RESOURCES

Sonoma Corps was created to address three key issues in our local region: 

1. As reported in a 2019 Forbes magazine article, the gap between the skills needed for today’s jobs and the number of new workforce entrants prepared and trained to do them is growing wider every day. Employers nationwide report that a college degree is no longer the deciding factor for new hires; work experience, interpersonal skills and technical aptitude are now the most desired traits for a job applicant. 

2. In January of 2022, the California-based national nonprofit YouthTruth administered surveys across 146 schools across Sonoma County school districts. The effort resulted in hearing from over 32,000 students on topics like engagement, college and career readiness, academic challenge, school culture, and emotional and mental health. 

According to the survey, Sonoma County students do not feel engaged in their learning or equipped to pursue college or career. The same survey, however, finds that students that experience some work-based learning, such as relevant projects that includes employer engagement, tours to visit local employers and explore careers, and internships, significantly increases these scores. 

3. Sonoma Corps implementation and expansion focus heavily on equitable access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. To many students, participation in the Sonoma Corps program allows them to explore industries otherwise unknown to them and presents an opportunity to break the cycle of generational poverty, attend college, stay local for high-skill, high-wage and in-demand careers, and create a financially secure future for themselves and their families. 

Each Sonoma Corps cohort is different, but all Sonoma Corps students are provided a variety of opportunities to explore and prepare for careers. Students will take approximately eight to ten field trips to explore local organizations, have several employer partners visit and speak to the class, and participate in career-connected projects. During the course, students will also build critical employability skills such as professionalism, curiosity, ethics, communication, initiative, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and overall life readiness through workshops, projects, and skill-building exercises.

Each Sonoma Corps cohort varies, but in most cases, students can participate in Sonoma Corps even if they do not wish to participate in a gap-year internship after they graduate.

Internships are not guaranteed, though CTE Foundation will work with employers and applicants in an effort to get as many participants into internships as possible. Just like a normal interview and hiring process, Sonoma Corps participants will interview for internships and employers will offer internships to those that they are interested in hiring. Once hired, you will be an employee of that organization.

Interns are full-time or part-time, non-exempt employees at your company and will participate in any benefits offered. To ensure students are making decisions based on their career goals rather than starting wages, CTE Foundation requests that employers start the inters between $18-$20 per hour. 

Work Experience units apply toward an Associate's Degree (AA/AS) from any California Community College (CCC) and are transferable to any California State University (CSU). For Work Experience courses, the amount of hours worked determines the number of units you may enroll in.

CTE Foundation is continuously doing outreach and onboarding a diverse range of Sonoma Corps internship hosts. But if a Sonoma Corps student is interested in a particular organization or industry not already represented, they are encouraged to speak to their Sonoma Corps teacher or a member of the CTE Foundation staff. Together, a strategy can be made to reach out to that organization and possibly help them build an internship position.