California Invests Over $231 Million to Advance and Expand Apprenticeship

State budget includes unprecedented funding for earn-and-learn opportunities, complemented by newly released strategic plan

Oakland - The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), its Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) and the Labor & Workforce Development Agency have released Advancing Apprenticeship in California: A Five-Point Action Plan to expand the state’s number of apprentices to a half-million by 2029. This comes as California invests significantly in apprenticeship via the 2022-2023 state budget.

“Apprenticeship is a key strategy for meeting California’s workforce development needs,” said Labor Secretary Natalie Palugyai. “With this new intentional funding and our roadmap for expansion, the State is creating equitable onramps to careers and opportunities for upward mobility for Californians.”

The Five-Point Action Plan was developed in response to Governor Newsom’s goal of serving 500,000 apprentices in California by 2029. This plan sets up the framework and strategies to meet that ambitious goal through new and revised policies. These include refining state policies and processes in many different sectors, addressing gender imbalance in the building trades, and creating more opportunities for youth through apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs.

“We developed this plan through collaborative discussions and engagement with employers, educators, labor and community groups,” said DIR Director Katie S. Hagen. “This funding will help lay the groundwork for a major expansion of the apprenticeship model, which allows workers to earn as they learn on the job.”
The plan’s five points include:

• Supporting regional and sectoral apprenticeship intermediaries
• Creating new apprenticeships outside of the traditional trades
• Improving gender representation in the trades
• Supporting youth apprenticeship for in-school and out-of-school youth
• Building pathways into the public sector

The 2022-2023 budget invests over $231 million in apprenticeship-related spending this year and more than $480 million over the next three years. New funding includes $175 million to create apprenticeship innovation funding for non-traditional programs, $65 million to create a youth apprenticeship grant program, $15 million to fund a unit that works to advance women in construction, and an increase of over 30% to the reimbursement rate for training in building and construction apprenticeships.

The Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Apprenticeship Standards consults with employers to develop a skilled workforce, by establishing innovative apprenticeship programs that offer training, to create viable career pathways for Californians.

Contact: Communications@dir.ca.gov, (510) 286-1161

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