To claim California’s Golden Ticket, we must center working learners and ensure that postsecondary education leads to real opportunities for upward mobility.
Alongside the Golden Ticket report, College Futures is launching a storytelling series that explores what it takes to connect education to upward mobility in practice. These stories highlight working learners, the barriers they face, and the cross-sector partnerships working to align education with real economic opportunity.
When education is accessible, completed, and connected to upward mobility, individuals and families move forward—and communities grow stronger and more prosperous.
What will it take to claim California’s Golden Ticket?
California’s future depends on whether more learners can access and complete postsecondary education—and whether that education leads to real upward mobility. Today, millions of working learners are navigating school alongside jobs, caregiving, and other responsibilities. This video explores why centering working learners is essential—and what’s at stake if we don’t.
What do partnerships connecting working learners to upward mobility look like today?
Claiming California’s Golden Ticket requires more than access and attainment for working learners - it also requires alignment. This story shows how employers, educators, and communities are working together to create pathways that lead to upward mobility and regional prosperity.