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City reports 2024 apprenticeship utilization results; fines collected and next‑year goals outlined
Summary
The city—s annual apprenticeship utilization report showed an average utilization rate of 16.7% across projects under the 2021 ordinance, about $20,000 in fines collected in 2024, and plans to refine incentives, exceptions, and compliance processes for 2025.
City staff presented the 2024 apprenticeship utilization annual report to the Finance & Administration Committee, summarizing compliance under the municipal Apprenticeship Utilization Ordinance for public‑works contracts and outlining steps staff will take in 2025 to align with a new statewide apprenticeship requirement.
Jason Sandoval, who oversees the program, said the city—s ordinance applies to public‑works projects over $600,000 and subcontracts over $100,000 and that the city collects affidavit‑of‑wage data to compute journeyman and apprenticeship hours. For projects processed under the 2021 ordinance, staff reported roughly 59,000 journeyman hours and near 12,000 apprenticeship hours, for an average utilization of about 16.7% across approved submissions.
Fines and enforcement: Sandoval described the fine schedule the ordinance sets: for each unmet apprenticeship hour a penalty is applied as a percentage of the highest craft hour worked (30% first violation, 60% second, 90% third, trade‑specific). He said the city collected about $20,000 in fines in 2024. Those dollars are redirected to pre‑apprenticeship and workforce programs—examples included high‑school pre‑apprentice programs and AGC‑run training efforts.
State alignment and exceptions: Sandoval said the state enacted a House bill last year to expand apprenticeship utilization statewide; the city is working to merge city and state requirements where they differ. Staff said they will keep stricter local standards where appropriate but adopt state reporting where helpful. Sandoval also described good‑faith and safety exceptions (for hazardous tasks or when no apprentices are available) and noted the program issues exceptions for federally funded projects when required.
Next steps: For 2025 staff plan to craft a procedures manual, refine incentive language for bidders and engineering, and improve data collection and consistency across trades. Sandoval said he expects 18–20 projects with contracts around $50 million in 2025, and staff will continue monitoring compliance and working with departments and contractors to improve apprenticeship outcomes.
