Our Work in San Francisco

Workforce Development

In alignment with the recommendations in The Report our workforce development efforts aim to redefine how UCSF thinks about workforce development across all levels of the organization by: 

  • Strengthen educational, employment and internship opportunities for San Francisco/Bay Area youth  
  • Provide workforce development programming and employment pipelines for under-resourced populations 
  • Supporting career advancement for UCSF’s frontline workers 
  • Foster a greater sense of belonging and inclusion for under-resourced populations at UCSF 

To accomplish these goals, we use two strategies that offer workforce development support across the career trajectory.  

Outside-In  

Our Outside-In strategy begins with training youth and young adults for the workforce by increasing their awareness of the wide range of careers and preparing them to enter the job market. In partnership with the Office of Diversity and Outreach & Center for Science, Education & Outreach, our K-14 pipeline programs offer education and career preparation support for underserved young people in San Francisco, Oakland, and the Bay Area in STEM and non-STEM fields. Each year, we offer 90+ internships to high school students in the Oakland Unified School District, San Francisco Unified School District, and other Bay Area schools that allow students to learn about UCSF careers.

  • In 2022, we launched the UCSF-SFUSD Mission Bay Linked Learning Lab and Hub Ambassadors Program offering high school students unique opportunities to their classroom learning with career experiences in health and biotechnology.
  • Partnerships with SF Bay Area Regional Occupational Programs/Career Technical Education, local county offices of education, Earn and Learn, and Eden Area Regional Occupational Programs to host and facilitate industry-specific career workshops and work-based learning experiences for youth.

The Outside-In Strategy also involves removing barriers in our hiring processes so local community members of all ages and levels of experience are prepared for and better able to be hired into jobs within UCSF:

  • Excellence Through Community Engaged Learning (EXCEL) program is our flagship entry-level admin/clerical workforce development program. In partnership with Jewish Vocational Services, we serve 40+ participants each year providing clerical/administrative training to prepare graduates for jobs in the healthcare sector at UCSF and other San Francisco Bay Area organizations 
  • Our IT Support Program, in partnership with Grow with Google and Jewish Vocational Services, trains community members for careers in technology and IT Support  Our Medical Assistant Program, in partnership with JVS and San Francisco State University, offers accelerated training to prepare community members for the Medical Assistant Certification.  
  • In SF Build, UCSF partners with San Francisco State University to prepare a diverse clinical and biomedical workforce to meet the changing needs of the field and impact the diversity of research participants, ultimately advancing inclusive research and health equity
  • Since the program’s inception in 2011, UCSF’s Community Construction Outreach Program has created economic opportunity for residents in a diverse array of San Francisco neighborhoods through construction work. 
  • In partnership with CityBuild, a program of the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, UCSF has a goal to achieve 30 percent local hire participation for construction workers on major UCSF construction projects including the $3 billion Comprehensive Parnassus Heights Plan.

Adult students in classroom wear stethoscopes and masks learning about the healthcare field

 

Inside Up 

As part of the Inside-Up Strategy, we provide training and career development support for current UCSF employees seeking to advance their careers. 

  • Our 3-n-1 Medical Assistant program, offered in partnership with Bay Area Medical Academy (BAMA) offers 3 pathways to success with 1 program. Accelerated training and career advancement prepare UCSF trainees for opportunities as a Medical Assistants, Phlebotomist, or EKG Technicians.  
  • Our Practice Coordinator Training Program offers paid accelerated training and job search support for UCSF employees interested in advancing their administrative skills toward employment in healthcare administration. 
  • In partnership with Young Community Developers, the Security Training Program supports formally criminal justice-involved residents of the Bayview neighborhood with wrap-around services while gaining re-entry into the workforce.  After successfully completing this 4-month instructor-led training, trainees are eligible for an interview with the UCSF police department.  
  • The UCSF Revenue Cycle Team partners with San Francisco State University and JVS to upskill current UCSF staff into advanced billing roles.

Procurement

Our procurement strategy involves routinely assessing UCSF’s purchasing to ensure it aligns with both the university’s overall mission and the anchor strategy. We support the university's goal of reaching a target of 25% of our addressable spend with certified small and diverse businesses.

To do this, we:

  • Support the Chancellor’s Cabinet and Finance Executive Team with the True North Goals to increase diverse spend.
  • Develop relationships with local businesses in the San Francisco Bay area and develop strategic partnerships with the City and County of San Francisco, the State of California, supplier diversity councils, chambers of commerce, and community advocacy partners.
  • Are creating the supplier diversity and inclusion program with tools for campus supply chain management by way of a Value Improvement Project. We seek to create procurement efficiencies and increase our capacity to serve the demand around supplier diversity for ease of access to our customers.
  • Facilitate Anchors Away, a brainstorming and thought leadership team that develops and supports our supplier diversity outreach events.
  • Work with program leads across the university to create Small Business Subcontracting Plans for federal contract awards over $750,000 to ensure their programmatic purchasing includes plans to utilize small and disadvantaged businesses, when applicable.

We encourage local, diverse businesses to get certified.

UCSF purchasers, approvers, and shoppers can visit the updated webpage for tools to search for diverse suppliers.

To learn more about the recent successes in supplier diversity at UCSF check out this infographic.

Want to stay up to date on campus procurement news and information? Subscribe to the Supply Chain Management newsletter.

For questions or assistance, please contact our Procurement Lead, Marliz Copado at [email protected].

DIverse group of people standing outside restaurants in San Francisco in the rain. Two are hold umbrellas

 

Community Investment

In 2021, Anchor Institution Mission developed a Regental policy exception allowing UCSF to implement a three-year pilot program to increase available lendable capital in under-resourced communities San Francisco Bay Area.

As part of the Community Investment Pilot Program, UCSF invested $5 million in unrestricted cash and equivalents with four fiscal intermediaries who used the funds to provide low-interest loans to qualifying applicants in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Community Investment Pilot was a response to the expressed and ongoing need for capital among local businesses and organizations serving under-resourced communities. Eligible applicants participated in a competitive process, and recipients represented Bay Area businesses heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn.

For questions about the Community Investment Pilot, contact Raquel Barajas at [email protected].