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Gov. Gavin Newsom highlights Jobs First funding, wildfire recovery and apprenticeships at LAEDC forum
Summary
At an LAEDC economic forecast event at East Los Angeles College, Gov. Gavin Newsom described the state's California Jobs First investments, debris-removal and rebuilding efforts after recent fires, and expanded apprenticeship funding and targets.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, governor of California, told a Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation forum at East Los Angeles College that the state has moved to fund region-led workforce and recovery projects through its California Jobs First initiative and related grants.
Newsom said the administration has rolled out multiple funding rounds and pilot programs to back locally developed economic plans and stressed the pace of debris removal and the need to rebuild "more resiliently." "They were able to actually achieve their goal ... of getting all the hazardous waste done within 30 days," Newsom said of recent federal cleanup work, adding that the state is coordinating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a state prime contractor, ECC, for a second phase of debris removal.
The announcements matter because they put grant dollars and program support behind regional workforce and recovery plans developed through a three-year, place-based process that Newsom described as "bottom up, not top down." He said the state provided an initial $5,000,000 grant to seed the effort, $39,000,000 for eight pilot programs, and later allocated $14,000,000 to each region; Newsom said the legislature recently made an additional $140,000,000 available for "ready to go" projects. He also cited a separate total of $287,000,000 the state has put "out the door already" backing the initiative.
Newsom emphasized workforce development and apprenticeships as central to the strategy. He previewed $92,000,000 in new investments for apprenticeship and high-road training programs and said the state exceeded a stretch goal for "earn and learn" apprenticeships, surpassing 600,000 such positions. "We provided that $5,000,000 grant upfront," he said of the Jobs First rollout, adding that the council overseeing the work formalizes collaboration among nine state agencies.
On wildfire recovery and permitting, Newsom described the pace of rebuilding in some communities and urged a streamlined, resilient approach to permitting and regulation. He said the state temporarily used an executive action affecting the Coastal Act to speed recovery and acknowledged that measure "created anxiety." He also referenced environmental review by saying "sequa," the transcript term used in the meeting; Newsom discussed balancing urgent recovery with the need for environmental safeguards.
Newsom cited examples of regional scope and partnerships, mentioning work with NASA and major research institutions in Southern California on advanced industries such as aerospace, satellites and quantum computing. He credited local organizers and said the Jobs First process engaged thousands of participants across 13 regional plans.
There were no formal votes or motions recorded in the forum. The session comprised remarks and a question-and-answer exchange; Newsom described funding amounts, implementation partners and policy priorities but did not announce new legislation at the event.
Newsom closed by urging local implementation and institutionalizing the changes to carry beyond any single administration. He said the effort aims to produce measurable results for taxpayers and that additional materials, including a broader vision document, will be rolled out to the legislature in coming months.
