With the demand for infrastructure at an all-time high and to preserve California’s status as an economic power nationally, it has announced a greater commitment to construction apprenticeships. 

This fall, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration released $25 million in new grants to develop 88 apprenticeship programs focused on training over 22,000 workers, many of whom are from historically underrepresented communities, to continue working in the construction and skilled trades industries. 

The Employment Training Panel administering the funds is financed through employer-paid training taxes instead of the general fund.

The grant program continues the work of recent state infrastructure legislation that requires contractors bidding on public works projects to ensure that they are investing in a skilled workforce in the future through the use of registered apprenticeships and prevailing wages. 

The Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees in California (JATCs) - that partner employers with labour unions, deliver 87% of the registered apprenticeship programs and produce 93% of the skilled-trade workforce in the state through educational programs in which apprentices pay no tuition and have no debts while earning pay.

Success stories from recent apprenticeships illustrate the benefits of this investment. Programs like the Northern California Construction Training (NCCT) report over 80% of students entering union apprenticeships or related construction occupations, featuring a combination of classroom training and on-the-job training. 

Individuals like Jordyn Martinez, who began on high school modernization projects, and Brianna Harrison, the first female graduate from Sacramento’s bus mechanic apprenticeship, show how state and local grants are creating pathways to careers for women and underrepresented populations in the trades. Together, these stories help highlight the personal as well as the regional economic benefits that apprenticeships bring to California’s construction workforce.

State agencies are working to ensure fairness in hiring and job opportunities, with the Department of General Services currently doing a big study to better include MBE, WBE, LGBTQ, SBE, and DVBE contractors. In addition, California now requires at least 25% SBE participation in state procurement, which is crucial, as it makes apprenticeships a key method for expanding representation among public contractors.

Programs focus on high-wage, “high-road” jobs that target veterans, women, justice-involved individuals, and other low-wage or precarious workers - particularly women, who are transitioning into these high-wage jobs. By???????????????? 2029, California is determined to have 500,000 apprentices across the state in order to have a strong and diverse workforce capable of carrying out the state's large-scale infrastructure projects.

As the need for skilled trades grows sharply from the sectors of housing construction to climate resilience, California's long-term and committed funding of apprenticeship programs is considered very important to keep worker safety, productivity, and economic opportunity intact while the state is building the ????????????????future.