A new state program from a department under the umbrella Labor and Workforce Development Agency is aimed at helping onboard apprentices in IT and cybersecurity.
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), working with its Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), has launched what DIR called a “groundbreaking funding initiative”: The debut of Apprenticeship Innovation Funding (AIF) to “fund and scale registered apprenticeship programs in new sectors for apprenticeship such as such as IT, cybersecurity, healthcare, and more,” according to a news release. Among the takeaways:
- The initiative shows up in the summary to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2023-2024 Fiscal Year budget, which arrived in January. Therein, Newsom indicated the 2022 Budget Act for FY 2022-23 “committed $175 million General Fund over three years ($55 million in 2022-23 and $60 million in each 2023-24 and 2024-25)” for DIR to “invest in and expand non-traditional apprenticeships.” The budget, Newsom said in his proposal, “proposes to withdraw $40 million ($20 million in each 2023-24 and 2024-25) — reducing the total three-year investment to $135 million. If there is sufficient General Fund in January 2024, this reduction will be restored.” However, DIR said Thursday that AIF “will be deploying” as much as $55 million “in this budget year.” This may indicate that a portion of the reduction could be restored. DIR’s proposed funding in that budget is up a little more than $100 million over FY 2022-23, from $1.23 billion to $1.34 billion, both with rounding. DAS’ proposed funding in the budget would rise from $109 million to $114 million, both also with rounding.
“Employers in all sectors are increasingly recognizing the value of growing their own talent through registered apprenticeships as they compete for skilled workers on a global scale,” DAS Deputy Chief Adele Burnes said in a statement. “AIF demonstrates California’s commitment to growing registered apprenticeships through this innovative formula funding, which will support both workers and job creators to thrive in our state.”
“We hope that this funding both helps to scale these programs to meet the needs of more employers and fill more vacancies, along with sparking the creation of more programs,” DIR told Industry Insider — California via email. - The prospect of more technology and cybersecurity staffers coming online could be welcome news for California state and local government. At a virtual fireside discussion in May 2021 that launched an Inland Empire cybersecurity apprenticeship initiative, then-California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su said there were more than 70,000 vacant cybersecurity jobs around the state — with a 56 percent vacancy rate for “cybersecurity-related jobs” in the Inland Empire. Citing Forbes magazine, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in November that cybersecurity careers are projected to increase by 12 percent from 2020-2025, and said San Diego County alone has nearly 3,000 annual vacancies in cybersecurity.
- AIF will cover “costs associated with administering their registered apprenticeship programs and training apprentices” for “registered apprenticeship program sponsors” and stakeholders, but unlike other some apprenticeship funding, eligible programs here don’t have to compete, as AIF funding is available to all registered programs in “sectors associated with the Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (IACA).” This includes “all sectors” except building and fire trades, per the news release. Outreach, recruitment, assessment, mentorship and administrative oversight are among the expenditure categories eligible for reimbursement for registered program sponsors. AIF will also financially support training, including via payments to academic institutions to “defray instructional costs for IACA occupations.”
- AIF has two funding categories, support and training, DIR told Industry Insider. Eligible support entities could include a union, a public educational entity, a non-profit or a for-profit, the department said. Eligible training entities could include those in the California public education system, from K-12 to community colleges; adult education, county offices of education, California State Universities and Universities of California, among others. People interested in developing apprenticeship programs should contact DAS for assistance getting oriented and set up, the department said via email. Simple steps are outlined here, with “different sector-focused teams for new program development.” Find contact emails here and for IT in particular, email infotechnology@dir.ca.gov. Find more information on AIF and deadlines here.
