When City College of San Francisco students walked into CSUEB’s Braddock Center for Science and Innovation for the EDAP Celebration, they weren’t visitors — they were presenters. Alongside East Bay peers from Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College, and other partner institutions, CCSF students shared what they had learned, built, and experienced during 8–10 weeks of work-based learning with transportation and civil engineering employers.
The Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Pathway reached across the Bay to connect SF/Peninsula students — many of whom had no prior pathway into civil engineering careers — with the mentors, experiences, and professional networks that make those careers possible. Through EDAP, CCSF students accessed stipended summer bridge programming, contextualized coursework aligned with industry needs, and on-site internship placements with employer partners like Caltrans. They didn’t just learn technical skills. They built the social capital — the professional relationships, the confidence, the familiarity with industry culture — that is often the invisible barrier between a student who is interested in engineering and one who actually enters the field.
Dean Drew Douglas Senior Dean of Workforce and Economic Development at Contra Costa Community College District reflected on what this collaboration represents: “I know BACCC has been seeking examples of successful alignment between workforce development boards, community colleges, nonprofits, and industry — and this is a strong case.”
That alignment is what makes EDAP more than a program. The cross-regional collaboration — connecting SF/Peninsula colleges with East Bay institutions, four-year universities, and industry partners through Growth Sector — reflects the kind of ecosystem-level coordination BACCC’s Vision 2030 calls for. No single institution created this. It took a workforce development board, a regional nonprofit, multiple community colleges, a university, and engaged employers working with shared purpose.
For CCSF students celebrating at CSUEB, that coordination translated into something concrete: a career pathway in civil engineering that was built for them, with them, and carried them further than they may have imagined when they first enrolled.
Partners: City College of San Francisco | CSUEB | Caltrans | Growth Sector | WDBCCC
Funding: BPIJ Grant | CAI Grant