The IDEAS Center is a Regional Center of the Multimedia/Entertainment Initiative of the Economical Development and Workforce Development Program of the State Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges.

IDEAS has served the west side of Region 7 of the Multimedia & Entertainment Initiative since 2002. Partnered with the Los Angeles Valley College Media Arts Department, which has a history of decades of educating students who have found employment in the entertainment industry, IDEAS similarly focuses on the film and broadcasting industries and the need for training and retraining its working professionals in the ever-changing technologies of media production

IDEAS has worked successfully in the last year to expand its objective of providing customized training for incumbent workers in the entertainment industry by working with an increasing number of labor unions. Over twenty-five different workshops have been developed to meet the needs of these artistic and technical professionals.

After establishing a partnership with Local 790, Illustrators and Matte Artists, IDEAS soon added Local 847, Set Designers and Model Makers, and began providing customized training for their members. An on-line survey was conducted by Local 790 to obtain direct responses form its members concerning training needs. In 2006, using its Local 790 contacts, IDEAS also partnered with the West Coast Office of I.A.T.S.E. (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), the umbrella union body that supervises all entertainment industry locals. Soon thereafter, with the liaison with the West Coast I.A.T.S.E. Office, IDEAS developed a new partnership with Local 800, Art Directors Guild, Scenic, Title, and Graphic Artists to provide customized training.

The IDEAS Center is committed to projects and partnerships that support the following objectives:

• to coordinate with industry to design new curriculum
• to retrain current industry employees in new technologies
• to collaborate with community colleges, universities, high schools and trade schools to provide regional leadership to develop additional capacity
• to create a model that can be replicated by other colleges and districts to provide students with practical knowledge beyond traditional classroom lectures and textbooks
• to provide outreach programs to areas of economic distress within the Center's service area.

Personnel