The Los Angeles Community College District has partnered with Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang to create a first-of-its-kind program in real estate appraisal that provides the groundwork for good-paying public sector jobs in one of California’s most important and impacted government sectors.

The five-course Real Estate Appraiser III Certificate of Achievement Program, based at West Los Angeles College, will augment the current in-house training used by the Assessor’s Office, providing mutual benefit to the county and the community.

“The Los Angeles Community College District continues to look for innovative and inclusive ways to provide opportunity to the diverse students we serve,” LACCD Board of Trustees President Steve Veres said. “This program is an accessible way to provide valuable and durable skills that will create lifelong employment opportunities in a high-growth market sector.”

With this new program, LACCD, the nation’s largest community college district, adds another discipline to its range of workforce offerings. The LACCD Board of Trustees approved adding the new pathway program at its July 7 meeting.

The five courses, designed in conjunction with the Assessor’s Office, are Real Estate Foundations, Assessment Practice, Residential Cost Approach, Sales Comparison Approach and Income Approach.

“I have been a longtime admirer of the Los Angeles Community College District, and it was a natural partner for this innovative arrangement,” Prang said. “I am confident the next generation of property appraisers will receive the highest quality education from this new program preparing them for a career of public service.”

The first cohort of 52 assessor employees will begin this fall, with a second cohort expected in spring 2022. The Certificate of Achievement Program is designed to bolster and provide additional career training for the Career Technical Education portion of West Los Angeles College, a pathway to good careers for students from a wide range of backgrounds.

As the partnership continues to develop and evolve, it is LACCD’s intention that it can serve as a blueprint for future creative workforce partnerships with government agencies.

“Our community colleges have long been a pathway to fulfilling careers in the public and private sectors,” LACCD Trustee David Vela said. “I am proud of this program, and I look forward to many cohorts of successful public servants graduating in the years ahead.”