The following table establishes when Strong Workforce Program funds are considered obligated. As with all fiscal matters, local policies must also be followed.

When SWP Funds are Considered Obligated
 Type of Cost Obligation Occurs
 Equipment and Supplies Date of Purchase Order
Work of Employees When Work is Done (only payroll for work that falls within the performance period is an eligible expense)
Contracted Services Date of Written Agreement
Utilities When Used
Rental When Used
Travel When Travel is Taken
 Conference Registration When Fee is Paid

General Questions

The goal of the success stories is to provide examples to the legislature about the successful outcomes of the SWP program. We will utilize these stories in the legislative report that is presented every year to the legislature.
We encourage interaction between our staff and our stakeholders in the field. If you have any questions regarding your plan, please reach out to your monitor and they will provide the necessary feedback.
No there is no system currently in use for job placement tracking. We are exploring various platforms to identify a system that allows us to track this more effectively.

NOVA Planning Process

If you indicate your plan will span 2 fiscal years in section 1, then you will be asked to complete forecasting for Q1-4 of each fiscal year.
Yes, if you change the name on a project all references to that project get changed to the new name.
Yes. However, some minor changes like updating contacts or modifying success stories are allowed without re-submitting a plan.
Partner Institutions are those who will receive funding through your regional project.
You can enter employer partners into NOVA prior to uploading the verification letter or letter of commitment. However, you will not be able to fully complete the Employer Partners section and submit the plan until a signed letter is uploaded with the legislatively mandated information on vacancies and target estimates.
Minor changes such as adding contacts can be done without having to re-certify. However, other changes impacting the budget, activities, or more material sections of the plan will require plans to be uncertified.
Links and websites can be included in your stories. The system is not currently set up to accept attachments or upload for success stories.
Yes. NOVA will allow supporting evidence uploads to complete the LMI section in place of inputting COE Supply and Demand data. Please note that colleges who submit other data sources will be reviewed by their monitors to ensure the data is appropriate for the funding request. Additionally, supporting evidence such as a screenshot from the COE’s supply & demand workbook must be provided when selecting Demand and Supply.

Objectives define the target impacts of your plan and how those relate to your region’s overall strategy. Activities are the tangible steps your plan will take and are connected to specific budget items.

  • Objectives define the impacts those actions are intended to have – the “Why" of your plan.
  • Activities define the actions you intend to take – the “What” of your plan.
No. While regions do not “approve” plans, it is required that regions acknowledge that plans align to regional priorities. College whose plan’s do not align with regional priorities can expect to receive inquiries from their Monitor about the discrepancy and provide sufficient evidence related to why funds are being used in support of a sector that is not a regional priority but may be a micro-region priority.

SWP Timelines and Deadlines

This will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please request an extension with your monitor. The monitor will then get final approval from the program dean.
No, the base and incentive funding has the same spending timelines.

SWP 2.0 Funding Year Changes Use of SWP Funds

There are alternative methods of demonstrating labor market need beyond your region’s priority sectors. A list of examples is included on the Labor Market Information tab of the SWP 2.0 Planning Workflow.

  • More than 50% of students attained a living wage as evidenced within the LaunchBoard
  • LMI library of curated labor market research compiled by the Centers of Excellence and Statewide and Regional Directors for Business Engagement.
  • Validated employer input via Employer Survey or Employer Advisory (local or regional)
  • Labor market need has been verified through a regional program approval process
  • Labor market need has been verified through a regional planning process where this need was an identified regional priority
  • The local biannual program review process was completed within the last two years and provides a justified labor market need to expand as well as demonstrates greater than 75% program completion and greater than 70 % employment of program graduates
  • Supply and demand data provided by the Labor Market Research Centers of Excellence
Subsidized employment is not an allowable activity under SWP, paying the support staff to assist students in obtaining employment is allowable. Student workers supporting an SWP project is an allowable expense. If you are currently subsidizing internships, where the student is working for an employer and you are using SWP funds to pay the student, please terminate those agreements immediately as this is not an allowable activity. If you have additional questions regarding this please submit those to strongworkforcehelpdesk@CCCCO.edu.

Yes. This will take effect at the expiration of FY 2019-20 funds on 12/31/21.

  • From 1/1/21 – 6/30/21: You will be able to use FY 19/20 and FY 20/21 funds.
  • From 7/1/21 – 12/31/21: You will be able to use FY 19/20, FY 20/21 and FY 21/22 funds.
  • Starting on 1/1/22: The 24-month limit on spending from each allocation year will mean that only 2 funding cycles will be available at any one time

As with all CTE investments, colleges should judge the appropriateness of investment by assessing the extent to which it supports the Strong Workforce Program goals. As 888824(5) states, districts must certify that the use of Strong Workforce Program funds meets the following requirements:

  • Increase the number of students in quality CTE courses, programs, and pathways that will achieve successful workforce outcomes
  • Increase the number of quality CTE courses, programs, and pathways that lead to successful workforce outcomes, or invest in new or emerging CTE courses, programs, and pathways that may become operative in subsequent years and are likely to lead to successful workforce outcomes.
  • Address recommendations from the Strong Workforce Task Force, including the recommended provision of student services related to career exploration, job readiness and job placement, and work-based learning.

Colleges should also take into consideration the requirement that these funds not supplant. Assuming that there is a documented strong labor market demand for the program and that the program is the sole beneficiary of the renovation, then this could be a very appropriate expenditure. If the building renovation would also benefit programs that are not CTE or are serving occupations that are not in demand, it would be appropriate to fund the renovation with SWP funds in proportion to the in-demand CTE program’s share of the overall costs and benefits of the renovation.

SWP funds can be used to pay student interns or subsidize wages only if those positions are in support of the administration or execution of a SWP program. For example, if you hired student workers to support your Strong Workforce Programs or if there is a tutoring component in one of your projects, that is an allowable expense.

What is not allowed is the subsidizing job placements or internships not tied to the administration or execution of your plan. For example, SWP funds should not be used to subsidize student internships with local employers or campus activities that are required by the institution. Funding activities that would have been funded by the college historically or are not specific to CTE is considered supplanting. Even though the internship may be through a SWP funded program, the work the intern will do is not in support of the program.

Subsidized employment is not an allowable activity under SWP, paying the support staff to assist students in obtaining employment is allowable. Student workers supporting an SWP project is an allowable expense. If you are currently subsidizing internships, where the student is working for an employer and you are using SWP funds to pay the student, please terminate those agreements immediately as this is not an allowable activity. If you have additional questions regarding this please submit those to strongworkforcehelpdesk@CCCCO.edu.
The following table establishes when Strong Workforce Program funds are considered obligated. As with all fiscal matters, local policies must also be followed.
The College/District should follow their local business processes and check in with their regional monitor. Promotional material should be program-specific. Promotional materials which provide direct monetary value to a student are considered a public gift of funds (eg Gift Cards to use at a Retail Store).

10% Limitation on “Across All Sectors”

Thank you for the suggestion. We are actively looking at refining the process to accommodate reporting requirements but better capture activities that impact multiple sectors. Expect to see updates in future system enhancements.
The 10% limit is a guideline. If you exceed 10% across all plans at your institution, your grant monitor may ask for additional details. And yes, the 10% guideline does apply to local and regional plans.

Allied Health Reporting (SB 1348)

You will be able to enter information from multiple training sites. Legislation requires the Chancellor's Office to report the information collected by this section for each clinical training site.

Short-Term, Non-Credit, Not-for-Credit Courses

Not-for-Credit will not be involved in Round 5 of incentive funding as Not-for-Credit is not reported by college in MIS. However, the Chancellor’s Office may choose to include Not-for-Credit in Round 6 of the funding formula.
We expect colleges to judge the appropriateness of investment by assessing the extent to which it supports the Strong Workforce Program goals. In addition, we are hoping that the flexibility in the language allows colleges to assist the state in economic recovery efforts by working with employers to get people back to work.
There is a selection when you create a plan that will ask you if it will involve short-term credit, non-credit or not for credit. If this is not involved in your plan, you may select no. This will prevent the requirement to provide employer partners and training info.
  • Contract Ed is a vehicle by which training and educational programs can be delivered. Contract training means that the college is being contracted to provide a training that can be for credit, non-credit, or not-for-credit.
  • Contract Ed is governed by different Ed Code sections and requires the program to be self-sustaining. The employer must cover the cost of the training including overhead associated with putting on the training. Contract Ed requires an employer or organization that needs to train incumbent workers or new workers to an industry.
  • Not- for- credit training is a training program designed by the college in partnership with an employer. The training does not have to be for credit. It can simply lead to training outcomes agreed to by the employer partner.
  • The ability to use Strong Workforce funds to subsidize not-for-credit training was designed to increase flexibility for colleges to work with local employers and encourage job training in light of COVID-19 impacts and to help with the state’s overall economic recovery efforts that will lead to employment for individuals who participate in the training.
There was an error made in the legislative memos omitting not-for-credit that will be corrected in the next cycle.
  • Yes, Contract Ed is a vehicle by which training and educational programs can be delivered. Contract training means that the college is being contracted to provide a training that can be for credit, non-credit, or not-for-credit.
  • Contract Ed is governed by different Ed Code sections and requires the program to be self-sustaining. The employer must cover the cost of the training including overhead associated with putting on the training. Contract Ed requires an employer or organization that needs to train incumbent workers or new workers to an industry.
Our goal is to support the state’s economic recovery efforts. In cases where incumbent workers are in jeopardy of losing their employment and training would support them in obtaining a different position with an existing employer that would be an allowable activity. In other cases working with your Workforce Boards to support getting unemployed individuals the training that leads to gainful employment where companies have made commitments to hire, SWP funds could be used to support those efforts as well.
Visit our Contract Education page for details. Additionally you can refer to California Education Code Section 78020.
As long as the verification document is signed and includes all the necessary information, it should work. For reference, the link to the recent memo with legislative language is included in the guide.

Data and Reporting

On the fiscal side of reporting, there will not be many changes with 2.0. However, there will be additional questions related to the targeted metrics and goals included in SWP 2.0 plans.
  • When plans are submitted and certified, those budgets are agreed to and finalized by multiple levels of district/regional and Chancellor’s office approval. That approval then becomes the legal authorization to spend the specified funds on the specified activities. Much like a contract would need to be amended and resigned by all parties prior to changing the cost or scope, plans require similar sign off from all parties.
  • There is some flexibility in changing plans without un-submitting but they are limited to non-material plan elements such as contacts or success stories.
Yes, you will report a narrative update on the status of the project alongside the expenditure reports in NOVA.
The data sources for each would be different. In section 4, the job vacancies identified are specific to each Employer Partner. The Demand information reported in LMI is tied to SOC codes and should come from the data provided by the Centers of Excellence.

There are alternative methods of demonstrating labor market need beyond your region’s priority sectors. A list of examples is included on the Labor Market Information tab of the SWP 2.0 Planning Workflow.

  • More than 50% of students attained a living wage as evidenced within the LaunchBoard
  • LMI library of curated labor market research compiled by the Centers of Excellence and Statewide and Regional Directors for Business Engagement.
  • Validated employer input via Employer Survey or Employer Advisory (local or regional)
  • Labor market need has been verified through a regional program approval process
  • Labor market need has been verified through a regional planning process where this need was an identified regional priority
  • The local biannual program review process was completed within the last two years and provides a justified labor market need to expand as well as demonstrates greater than 75% program completion and greater than 70% employment of program graduates.
  • Supply and demand data provided by the Labor Market Research Centers of Excellence

Training Resources

  • Please look through the training resources on the Vision Resource Center and the NOVA YouTube channel.
  • If your institution would like to request additional training, submit a NOVA help desk request and your monitor will work with you to set it up.