California: Investing in Intermediaries to Sustain and Scale Apprenticeship
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With federal and state investments sparking dramatic growth in the number and types of Registered Apprenticeship Programs around the country, we’re seeing a natural shift in focus from “startup” to capacity to sustain and scale programs. California—home to nearly one-sixth of all apprentices in the United States—is addressing capacity challenges, in part, by investing state dollars to develop an ecosystem of regional and sector-based apprenticeship intermediaries.
In 2021, California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency and Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) embarked on a project funded by the James Irvine Foundation and supported by New America and Social Policy Research Associates. This project convened California apprenticeship stakeholders to consider how to best take apprenticeship programs to scale and hit Governor Gavin Newsom’s “shoot for the moon” goal of 500,000 apprentices by the year 2029. This work culminated in a five-point action plan, the first point of which is to support multi-employer apprenticeship intermediaries.
During this process, funding conversations revealed that entities that establish and run Registered Apprenticeship Programs rely on a wide and varying range of funding streams; spend lots of time and money to identify, obtain, and sustain those funds; and have an easier time finding funding for training and on-the-job learning than for the work of building, sustaining, and scaling Registered Apprenticeship Programs.
In the fall of 2022, the State took two steps to address these challenges.
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First, DAS helped stakeholders navigate potential funding streams more nimbly by mapping funding streams into three categories: "apprenticeship specific," "apprenticeship adjacent," and “apprenticeship possible” sources.
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Second, the California state legislature set aside $175 million in state general revenue over three years for Apprenticeship Innovation Funding (AIF) to help Registered Apprenticeship Program sponsors in nontraditional sectors (outside of the building and fire trades)—including regional and sector-based intermediaries—to sustain and scale their programs.AIF provides up to $3,500 per active apprentice per year (prorated), along with a $1,000 bonus per apprenticeship completion. (AIF also provides funding for training costs.)
Providing these funds as formula reimbursement funds means sponsors won’t have to spend as much time chasing competitive funds to pay for critical program operations and expansion work. Fixed reimbursement rates will incentivize intermediaries that can operate at scale and realize efficiencies.
Investing in a robust layer of apprenticeship intermediaries should expand the state’s capacity to grow and sustain apprenticeship programs and introduce efficiencies across the board, from aggregating employer needs and creating economies of scale in training and recruitment to handling the administrative responsibilities of Registered Apprenticeship Programs and generally making it easier for employers to sign on for apprenticeship.
What strategic steps are you taking to sustain and scale apprenticeship programs in your area?
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- Posted by: Jon Vehlow
- Posted in: Apprenticeship