The Santa Barbara County Customer Service Academy, a program of the Country Workforce Investment Board, was created as a demonstration program by the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce with Job Creation Investment Funding provided through the County as Economic Development Advisory (EDA) Committee.  The Academy graduated its initial class of CalWorks recommended individuals in October of 2001.

    The EDA Committees charter to the Academy called for the curriculum to be flexible enough to allow for quick expansion to the county's other cities.  In collaboration with the county's Chambers of Commerce, over 100 CalWorks recipients, 18-24 year-olds, displaced workers, unemployed citizens, and underemployed workers will be identified, certified eligible by the Workforce Investment Act Office or CalWorks and will enroll in one of the six 13 Module Customer Service Academies.  The Academy will graduate a new class every two months in another city.

    All Academy attendees will complete scientifically-validated job fit assessments to determine which of over 300 occupations they are best suited for.  Major employers in each city will participate by having their various entry-level positions benchmarked and the companies will attend a job recruiting fair on graduation day.  The graduates, armed with their Customer Service Academy training, their resumes, their Academy Graduation Certificates, Letters of Recommendation from the local Chamber of Commerce's CEO, and Job Match Reports will apply to local companies which helped the Academy benchmark the very positions the graduates are applying for.