1. Apprenticeship Standards
APPRENTICESHIP

California's Leaders Align to Advance Youth Apprenticeship

Jeanne-Mairie Duval
Outreach Manager, DIR – Division of Apprenticeship Standards
Committee members pictured left to right: Joseph R. Williams, Adele Burnes, Allison Frenzel, and Jeffery T.D. Wallace speak during the California Youth Apprenticeship Committee public meeting on January 21, 2026
Committee members pictured left to right: Joseph R. Williams, Adele Burnes, Allison Frenzel, and Jeffery T.D. Wallace speak during the California Youth Apprenticeship Committee public meeting on January 21, 2026.

On January 21, 2026, leaders from across California gathered in Sacramento with one focus: to build the framework for sustainable youth apprenticeship.

The California Youth Apprenticeship Committee (CYAC) held its final public meeting, followed by a Youth Apprenticeship Summit hosted by the California Workforce Association, NextGen California, CareerWise, and Jobs for the Future. Together, these events convened government leaders, educators, workforce developers, and employers—all focused on turning the vision of youth apprenticeship into reality.

Right now, young people are ready for new apprenticeship career pathways but lack clear access to them. The CYAC's comprehensive report, The California Youth Apprenticeship Model, provides a robust set of recommendations to chart a course for what youth apprenticeship could look like in California, including:

Career Apprenticeship Bridge (CAB) programs: Recommends allowing high school students to complete the initial phase of apprenticeship—300 hours of paid on-the-job training plus instruction-while still in high school, with career technical education courses counting toward apprenticeship requirements.

College-connected pathways: Proposes clear routes from high school through community college apprenticeships, allowing young people to earn while they learn and graduate with both credentials and work experience.

Support for opportunity youth: Calls for supportive services for disconnected young people ages 16-24, recognizing that career pathways must work for all youth, not just those already in traditional school settings.

The CYAC report provides the roadmap for expanding opportunity across California. Whether you work with young people, employ them, or care about their futures, these recommendations chart the course.

Read: The California Youth Apprenticeship Model

California's young people are ready for pathways that lead somewhere real. Now we have the framework to build them.

January 2026