Draiman's Plan for Job Creation
Draiman believes that businesses – not government – are the chief engine of job creation and economic growth in LA. With a particular focus on small and innovative businesses, Draiman will focus on creating an environment that helps businesses to thrive by ending redundant regulations, simplifying the way small businesses interact with City government, and opening City contracts to the best qualified rather than the best connected.
LA’s strength and economic vitality are directly tied to the health and livability of its neighborhoods – communities where people can live, work and stay. Creating healthy communities and neighborhood jobs and investments, require careful planning and systematic implementation. Draiman’s plan will make sure planning efforts are coordinated and backed by sufficient resources to deliver results.
Improve LA's Position as a Global Technology and Education LeaderDraiman knows that continued job growth means supporting innovation and investing in emerging technology and talent. Draiman will support the growth of the technology industry in LA, giving entrepreneurs and technology talent the support they need to innovate, grow and stay in LA.A campus for technological innovation
Draiman will accelerate LA’s growth as a global hub of technology innovation and start-ups, supporting the establishment of a technology innovation hub to promote collaboration and help technology businesses succeed. Google revolutionized the "technology campus" approach to innovation by providing a centralized work space with access to like-minded innovators, venture capitalists and, most importantly, to good transportation options and great food. Draiman will work with local businesses and investors to create a similar campus in LA. The campus will be close to multiple transit lines and bike infrastructure. Space will be available for businesses that focus on IT and green technologies.
Market LA for the next generation of tech employees and entrepreneurs
Draiman is committed to attracting and keeping the next generation of talent in LA. Working with private sector partners, Draiman will launch an annual recruitment weekend where the best and brightest from city and regional universities are brought to LA for an introduction to local tech companies and the city – to recruit and keep the talent here and out of Silicon Valley. Not just students from the City Colleges of LA, UIC, Northwestern, DePaul and other local schools, but also from Champaign, Purdue, Washington University, Ann Arbor and Madison Wisconsin. The weekend will be built around LA Ideas Week, LA's first annual week-long platform of ideas and innovation. LA Ideas Week will take place at venues throughout the city, featuring great thinkers, doers, and innovators from around the world, descending on LA to help us see the future and to shape it.
Create a “LA Workers of the Future” program
Businesses choose to grow in LA because of a diverse and educated talent pool. Draiman wants to ensure that more LA Public School high school students are given exposure to - and preparation for - viable college and employment options. He will establish a 'LA Workers for the Future' program that partners private businesses with LA's high schools and community colleges, giving students career-specific training they need to create a direct path from school to the workforce or higher education in their chosen area of study.
In addition to their regular course of study, students will have access to classes in technical instruction that will include a curriculum jointly developed with the private sponsor. Each student will also have a guaranteed internship with the program's sponsor between their junior and senior year, and will receive an industry-specific credential or certification upon graduation.
Invest in a skilled workforce that meets employer needs
Job training programs work when they are tailored to the needs of employers, but too many programs are disconnected from employers or the skills and requirements of the workplace. Draiman’s administration will conduct a comprehensive review of all job training programs supported by the City, and require that they are coordinated, have clear performance metrics and direct links to real jobs and employers. As part of the review, Draiman will meet with the CEOs and leadership of the major employers in LA and ask them straightforward questions about what they need from job training programs to hire and retain more LA workers.
Increase support to small businesses by expanding and enhancing the Small Business Improvement Fund
Sometimes, even the strongest small businesses need financial help. Today’s tough economy and highly constrained credit markets have been particularly hard on small neighborhood businesses, making it difficult, if not impossible to invest and grow. Draiman believes in the economic potential of these LA businesses and is ready to help invest in their future by expanding and enhancing the Small Business Improvement Fund (SPIF.) SPIF is a program targeted at small businesses located in TIF districts. The program provides grants up to $150,000 to qualifying small businesses to invest in their facilities. Draiman will increase funding for the SPIF program by $15 million annually. He will increase the cap on grant awards to $200,000, expand eligibility for LA businesses, and allow for progress payments to grant recipients as projects are implemented and reduce match requirements to address the difficulty that many LA businesses are having accessing credit to finance needed improvements.
