Oakland — Today, the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and its Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) announced that $68 million in funding is available to boost apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. The funding furthers California’s commitment to create career pathways for job seekers by supporting on-the-job training programs and employers who invest in the apprenticeship model. 

What Secretary of the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency Stewart Knox said: “Apprenticeships are the gold standard of workforce training, and under Governor Newsom we have expanded this pathway to good jobs into promising new areas like advanced manufacturing, transit, and healthcare.”

This large fiscal investment will help provide hands-on, real-world job training and remove barriers to employment. Of the total sum, $52 million is  Apprenticeship Innovation Funding (AIF) intended to help grow and scale new and existing apprenticeship programs to meet job market needs within high-demand sectors such as technology and healthcare. The remaining $16 million in funding comes from the California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) grant to boost youth apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. The grant helps young people ages 16 to 24, who are often out of school or unemployed.

What DIR Director Katie Hagen said: “California continues to lead the way by expanding apprenticeship programs to support gaps in the labor market. This funding will help employers and program sponsors cover apprenticeship costs while creating pathways to well-paying jobs.”

How we got here: 

This is the third round of AIF funding. During the first and second rounds, DAS awarded $41.7 million to 73 registered apprenticeship programs, many of which showed promising growth as a result of the funding.  For example, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority went from serving 80 apprentices in the first year of AIF to 258 apprentices in the second year, which enabled them to fill bus driver vacancies.

The COYA funding focuses on opportunity youth – young people who are disconnected from school and work. Many have faced challenges such as involvement in foster care, child welfare, or the juvenile justice system.

During the first round of COYA, $31 million was awarded to 51 projects across various in-demand sectors. EMS Corps received $1.8 million in funding to support Firefighter and Paramedic pre-apprentices. The California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee is the largest apprenticeship program in California, currently with 12,129 active apprentices. The majority of the state’s firefighters are trained through apprenticeship programs.   

What Acting DAS Chief Adele Burnes said: “We are committed to designing an easy to navigate system that connects youth to employment through apprenticeship programs. This earn-and-learn model is a proven way for young people to gain critical job skills while being paid and upskilling through focused subsidized coursework. Watching the whole-community approach take shape and seeing opportunity youth succeed has been gratifying.” 

Why it matters:

This all comes after Governor Gavin Newsom announced that $92 million in funding will be used to train Californians for jobs in growing industries and place workers on a path to stable, well-paying careers. The new investments illustrate the state’s commitment to build a competitive workforce and meet labor demands with jobs outlined in the Jobs First Economic Blueprint, unveiled Wednesday in Los Angeles.

What’s next: 

For AIF funding, eligible programs with registered apprentices active in 2024 can apply to reimburse the cost of running innovative apprenticeship programs, and supporting and training apprentices. Interested applicants can learn more during an informational session on February 27, 2025.

To qualify for COYA funding, applicants must demonstrate a history of at least two years serving opportunity youth and show success in helping them find employment. Eligible organizations include a local education agency, union, workforce development board, apprenticeship intermediary or apprenticeship program sponsor and must either already be a registered apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship program or become a registered apprenticeship program through the planning grant. Applicants can learn more during the COYA informational session on March 20, 2025.