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North Central Coast Decision Brief · 31-9092

Medical Assistants

Medical Assisting has substantial regional openings and several existing pathways. The decision question is less about adding supply and more about whether training produces durable employment, adequate wages, and advancement.

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At a glance

The decision context.

Regional openings2,620

EDD North Central Coast, 2023–2033

Regional median wage$50,594

EDD North Central Coast

Santa Cruz growth+24.7%

EDD, 2022–2032

Monterey growth+32.7%

EDD, 2022–2032

Current finding: The region has multiple pathways, including college and short-term adult-education options. Market demand is strong, but verified program outcomes and advancement evidence are still thin.
Evidence by dimension

Strong evidence stays separate from weak evidence.

A

Market opportunity

EDD reports 2,620 projected North Central Coast openings for 2023–2033. Santa Cruz and Monterey also show strong projected growth in their direct county profiles.

A

Training supply

Cabrillo, WASCAE, Monterey Adult School/Cal Regional, and nearby Gavilan pathways are loaded.

B

Capacity + access

Program schedules, costs, externships, and admissions are visible for several pathways, but annual capacity is not verified.

U

Outcomes

Program-level completion, employment, earnings, certification, and advancement outcomes are not yet reproducibly loaded.

U

Workforce-system status

Program-level ETPL status remains pending for all loaded Medical Assisting pathways.

Confidence rule: grades apply to the evidence block, not to the occupation, provider, or community. No composite score is calculated.
Known training supply

What is already available.

Cabrillo College Medical AssistingCollege pathway with certificate/A.S. options and clinical externship; annual application process; capacity and outcomes not loaded.
WASC Adult Education Clinical Medical AssistantCurrent evening adult-education pathway; $2,700; capacity and employment outcomes not verified.
Monterey Adult School / Cal Regional CMAShort-term pathway with externship; $2,995; capacity and outcomes not verified.
Gavilan Clinical Medical AssistingNearby regional option; current detailed capacity and outcomes are not loaded.
Decision logic

What this response means now.

What to do with the current evidence

  • Complete outcomes and ETPL verification before expanding public investment in additional Medical Assisting seats.
  • Compare short-term, adult-education, and college pathways on completion, employment, earnings, certification, and advancement.
  • Test whether programs create a credible ladder to higher-paid healthcare occupations.

What would change this finding?

  • If existing programs are consistently full and verified outcomes are strong, scaling could become appropriate.
  • If placement, earnings, or advancement are weak, redesign or different training investments should take priority.
  • If employer demand weakens materially, monitoring would become more appropriate.
Not supported yet: Adding another Medical Assisting program simply because projected openings are high.
Targeted evidence queue

Only collect evidence that could change the decision.

  • Verify ETPL status for Cabrillo, WASCAE, Monterey Adult School/Cal Regional, and Gavilan.
  • Reproduce DataVista outcomes for Cabrillo and Gavilan.
  • Collect adult-education completion, certification, employment, earnings, and advancement outcomes.
  • Document annual cohort capacity for each pathway.
Source ledger

Evidence used in this brief.

California EDD North Central Coast Region ↗
Cabrillo Medical Assisting ↗
WASC Adult Education Health Care ↗
Monterey Adult School Health & Medical Careers ↗
Gavilan Degrees and Certificates ↗