In an effort to create more jobs and opportunities for students, El Camino College is working with local businesses and employers to foster partnerships and pipelines into the workforce.

The 5th Annual State of the College took place on Friday, Nov. 4, in the East Dining Room hosting academic leaders, significant employers and local representatives like Torrance Mayor George Chen and 66th District Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi.

The event featured speeches from the president of the college as well as from a professional and student speaker.

Aiming to build on the last 75 years of achievements, President Brenda Thames spearheaded the event by highlighting the college’s commitment to serving the community.

“We are creating change,” Thames said about the college in her speech.

The president said that the hope for the future is to collaborate with local businesses in creating relationships to help provide more opportunities for students like job fairs, work experience and internships.

“[We are] providing pathways, not only into college but also into the workforce,” Thames said to The Union. “Sometimes that’s simultaneously, like with careers in STEM technology, career technical education that also comes with work experience, internships and apprenticeships that students do at the same time [as taking classes].”

While the main focus was on featuring the advancements in STEM-related fields, the speech reiterated that providing tools for all students and their educational goals is the central principle of the college.

Director of Public Information and Government Relations Kerri Webb said that the intention for the event was to iterate that the college’s goal is to equip students with real-world, applicable trades to use in the workforce.

In recent years, El Camino College has been a hub for student innovation, spotlighting the new “Makerspace” in the library.

The Makerspace is a student-led initiative that includes 3D printing, virtual reality headsets, a video recording studio and a podcast studio to name a few.

Student speaker and electrical engineering major Moises Santander said that with the guidance of El Camino, he was able to launch a new 3D printing startup with other students that are now supported by NASA.

“El Camino has a vast array of opportunities,” Santander said. “There is so much support for anything and everything that you want to do here.”

Santander, hoping to create high-quality, consumer-grade 3D printers that are affordable, explains that the opportunities lay out there, but students just need to find them.

“You just got to reach out, you know, talk to people,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to tell people about your ideas because you will find someone that can support you along the way.”

With growing trends in the digital industry, El Camino College officials are developing pathways, courses and business partnerships that speak to the needs of students and the industry.

Principal Program Manager for Microsoft and speaker Heather Cook Newman said that with her experience in employee engagement, she believes that students are looking for programs that support their needs in earning a degree and entering the workforce.

“I think at the end of the day, people are just looking for opportunities that they’re interested in, where they can make an impact and then find themselves a career,” Newman said.

The theater major from Washington University said that workplace culture is a significant factor in the future demographic of workers and that learning together as a team is what people want.

“[People] don’t want to be taken advantage of, you know, they don’t want toxic work environments,” Newman said. “They want to have a healthy culture… I think people are looking for places that care about them.”

Chen told The Union staff that the tools and opportunities that El Camino provides to its students help add to the vibrant community and allows it to continue to be the best.

“El Camino is one of the premier community colleges in the nation,” Chen said. “In here, it gives me an opportunity to see, yes, they’re continuing that tradition and it’s wonderful. El Camino is doing things four-year colleges are doing and I’m very happy that it’s in our community.”

Editor’s Note: Updated missing photo caption on Nov. 6, 2022, at 9:13 p.m.