California awards over $15 million to align disconnected youth with apprenticeships in high-demand fields
Oakland—The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and its Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) announced they have awarded 29 youth apprenticeship programs $15.4 million in California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) grants. The funding aims to serve opportunity youth, who are often out of school or unemployed, by aligning them with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that can lead to employment in high-demand fields. This sets them on a path to upward mobility and higher earning power, while simultaneously addressing the state’s inequity gap.
What Labor & Workforce Development Agency Secretary Stewart Knox Said: “Apprenticeship funding is about scaling real, on-the-ground solutions. These grants will help community organizations, labor unions, and employers launch new opportunities, provide stipends during training, and offer direct support to young people who need a foot in the door. The Governor’s focus on practical, targeted investment is opening career opportunities where they’re needed most.”
What Director Katie Hagen said: “The investments we're making today not only address critical workforce needs but also empower young people with the tools to build lifelong careers. Programs like the COYA grant exemplify smart public policy by creating opportunities for youth while strengthening California’s economy.”
What Chief Adele Burnes said: “Watching community organizations unite to support opportunity youth through apprenticeships has been truly inspiring. DAS remains committed to expanding access and guiding these participants toward long-term, meaningful careers.”
The COYA funding structure is divided into planning and implementation grants. Planning grants support the development of apprenticeship programs, including curriculum design and program launch. Implementation grants focus on providing stipends during training and offering supportive services to help youth succeed as apprentices.
This is the second round of funding. During the first round of COYA, $31 million served 51 projects across various in-demand sectors.
Why it matters
About 40% of the programs awarded COYA funding are part of the care industry. This includes sectors such as healthcare and education—areas which are experiencing significant labor shortages.
Unpaid training has been identified as a barrier which prevents individuals from pursuing careers in these fields. In response, the industry is turning to apprenticeships, which offer people the opportunity to earn while they learn.
COYA second round recipients include:
- iFoster will use the COYA planning grant to launch a Medicaid Peer Support Specialist program, which prepares foster youth to work in health centers that assist uninsured and Medi-Cal patients in navigating resources. The apprenticeship program is a pathway into health and social service careers for foster youth who often face unemployment or homelessness in their adult life.
- Strive Community Health Institute is expanding its registered apprenticeship programs that focus on careers as case workers and doula healthcare specialists—trained professionals who provide non-medical support to individuals before, during, and after childbirth. Through the COYA implementation grant, Strive will serve 100 opportunity youth and cover the costs of supportive services, which can include transportation, childcare and mental health supports.
- The Tulare County Office of Education is creating a pipeline for careers in education with a COYA planning grant that will use a stackable apprenticeship model. This approach combines shorter, related apprenticeships to create a coherent career pathway. Youth apprentices can enroll in paraprofessional apprenticeship programs and advance towards becoming K-12 teachers.
- The San Diego County Office of Education and the Procareer Academy will address the critical need for Certified Nursing Assistants by launching an apprenticeship program through a COYA planning grant. The program aims to recruit, train, and mentor 51 opportunity youth within the next year at healthcare sites in San Diego County.
A complete list of recipients can be found here.
How we got here
California is investing in apprenticeships to address workforce shortages. Part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Master Plan for Career Education is devoted to expanding youth apprenticeships by enhancing career pathways in high school, strengthening workforce training for young people, and bolstering regional partnerships in communities. It also addresses removing barriers for opportunity youth seeking ways to gain skills before having obtained a college degree. The Governor has a goal to serve 500,000 apprentices by 2029.
About DAS
The Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Apprenticeship Standards consults with employers and partners to develop a skilled workforce by establishing innovative apprenticeship programs that offer training to create viable career pathways for Californians.
Media Contact: Communications@dir.ca.gov, (510) 286-1161