Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday unveiled the Master Plan for Career Education to strengthen career pathways, prioritize hands-on learning and real-life skills, and advance educational access and affordability.

In a meeting at Modesto Junior College, Gov. Newsom received the Master Plan, which provides a framework to respond to the complex challenges facing California’s labor market and education landscape and prepare all learners for the ever-changing workforce.

The plan, supported by proposed budget investments, will make it easier for Californians to receive college credit for their real-world experience — including veterans.

With strategic input from agencies and community members, two central themes emerged to guide the creation of the Master Plan: enhance coordination and address structural barriers that make it difficult for Californians to navigate education, workforce training, and public benefit systems.

By designing systems so they are inherently accessible to all learners regardless of their varied needs and circumstances, California can simultaneously expand access for a wide variety of learners and free up resources to provide more customized support for specific populations.

The Governor’s January Budget includes several proposals that stem from the Master Plan.

“The Master Plan lays out a clear path to help all Californians — whether just starting out or switching careers — access high-paying, fulfilling jobs, with or without a college degree. By aligning our education system with real workforce needs, we’re powering economic growth and creating stronger communities,” said Newsom.

Career passports and credit for prior learning

To help Californians better showcase their skills, the state will launch Career Passports — a digital tool that combines academic records with verified experience from work, military service, training programs and more.

This skills-based record will help shift hiring away from degree-only requirements and open up more good jobs for workers of all backgrounds.

The plan also invests in expanding Credit for Prior Learning, or CPL, allowing veterans and working Californians to turn real-world experience into college credit.

This statewide push is expected to benefit 250,000 people — including 30,000 veterans — and generate billions in long-term economic gains by speeding up time to degree and cutting costs.

Together, these efforts help Californians get credit for what they already know — and put that knowledge to work.

Stronger state and regional coordination

To make career pathways more effective, the Master Plan calls for a new statewide collaborative to align education, training, and hiring needs. This body will help track labor market trends, reduce duplication, and build smarter workforce strategies.

Locally, the plan supports stronger regional partnerships — expanding paid internships, streamlining funding, and engaging employers to identify in-demand skills. The goal: create seamless, real-world pathways from the classroom to the job site.

You can read the full Master Plan below.

The history of the plan

In the 1960s, California’s Master Plan for Higher Education established a clear structure for its postsecondary systems (Community Colleges, CSU, and UC), based on a labor market requiring minimal formal education. However, as the 21st century has progressed, California's economy has evolved.

To meet the demands of a rapidly changing workforce, including the rise of artificial intelligence, educational institutions must adapt and develop strategies that support continuous upskilling throughout students' careers.

In recognition of this, in August 2023, Gov. Newsom launched a new way forward through the Freedom to Succeed Executive Order.

The culmination of those efforts, the Master Plan for Career Education provides a strategy for responding to the complex, multifaceted challenges confronting California’s labor market and educational landscape.

It acknowledges the shifting demographics of college attendees and the changing nature of work — with automation and artificial intelligence reshaping job categories and skill requirements — and provides flexibility to address new challenges that will emerge in the future. The statewide effort has been led by a public-private partnership with philanthropy.

The initial framework for the Master Plan was first released in December at Shasta Community College.

2025 CA Master Plan for Career Education by LakeCoNews on Scribd