The Bay Area Industry Education Council (IEC) Since its founding in December, 1995, the Bay Area Industry Education Council (IEC), a community-based alliance of business, labor, and education, has established itself as intermediary organization whose purpose is to bring industry and education together around future workforce preparation, and incumbent worker skills upgrade and training.

Key IEC stakeholders include: K-12 education including the East Bay School to Career Partnership & BaySCAN; higher education including Peralta Community College District, Chabot/Las Positas District, Contra Costa Community College District, Fremont/Newark Community College District and Cal State Hayward; private industry and its organizations including Alameda County and Oakland Private Industry Councils; organized labor (union and non-union); and regional economic development organizations including the Economic Development Alliance for Business (EDAB) and the Tri-Valley Business Council. 

IEC's collaborative partnership with these entities allows it to address workforce preparation in systemic and holistic ways that include such strategies as: occupational analysis, worker and student assessment, educator professional development, facilitating industry labor market study, and brokering the development of curriculum and training that is aligned with industry needs.

Last year IEC was designated a Bay Area Work Keys Service Center, and has been spearheading the regional deployment of the nationally-recognized occupational skill certification system known as Work Keys, developed by American College Testing (ACT).  The organization has invested significant resources in the development of a regional skills-driven workforce development initiative that uses the Work Keys skills certification and job profiling system to identify and disseminate the skills and skill levels required in jobs and occupations in a variety of industry sectors.