The California Community Colleges, through the Economic and Workforce Development Program (EWD), is an incubator of educational and workforce development that collaborates with industry to develop and deliver cutting-edge career and technical education (CTE) skills training. Guiding the work taking place at the regional and state levels is the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act State Plan, which provides strategies to develop multi-agency metrics and create a cross-agency data system that fosters regional collaboration and alignment of workforce and educational systems. In 2016-17, EWD awarded $29.2 million to fund 85 grants statewide, compared with $24.8 million in 2015-16 for 95 grants. These initiatives strengthened regional collaboration and supported alignment between career and technical programs at the community colleges and the needs of industry sectors. This report describes efforts to align with the Doing What MATTERS for Jobs and the Economy framework, a four-pronged strategic approach to close California's skills gap. It highlights California's efforts to build a strong workforce through its seven macroeconomic regions via: (1) Student Success; (2) Career pathways; (3) Workforce data and outcomes; (4) Curriculum; (5) CTE faculty; (6) Regional coordination; and (7) Funding. [For the 2017 Annual Report, see ED586210.]