
How To Build an Inclusive Workforce with Parina Parikh, Associate Vice President at Jobs for the Future Episode 167
From The Future Of Work by Pasadena City College
May 12, 2026 · 27 min · Season 8 · Episode 167
About this episode
Parina Parikh discusses building an inclusive workforce that values real-world experience alongside traditional education.
What if volunteering, raising kids, learning on the job, and real life experience counted just as much as a college degree? In this episode of Future of Work, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo talks with Parina Parikh, Associate Vice President overseeing Job for the Future's strategic presence in California, about what it really means to create a workforce that works for everyone. Parikh shares how community colleges, competency-based learning, and credit for real-world experience can help close opportunity gaps. She also redefines what makes a "quality job," stressing equity, mobility, and belonging, and how small businesses can help lead the charge. Join us to discover how you can be a part of building a new and better workforce standard for the future. You'll learn: How inclusive workforce programs start with inclusive design, and what that means in practice. Why regional strategies are essential to solving California's workforce and housing challenges. How community colleges are at the forefront of credentialing outside traditional classrooms. What Jobs for the Future is doing to help small and mid-size employers offer quality jobs. Why "everything counts" and how your non-traditional…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Salvatrice Cummo
Guest: Parina Parikh
Topics covered
- inclusive workforce
- community colleges
- equity
- job quality
- real-world experience
- workforce development
Keywords
- inclusive design
- credentialing
- opportunity gaps
- small businesses
- workforce challenges
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Jobs for the Future, Pasadena City College
Places: California
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