Employment Training Panel approves more than a dozen training contracts, $2.5 million wildfire assistance and program rule changes

The Employment Training Panel on April 25 unanimously approved funding for multiple employer and single-employer training contracts, adopted updated program guidelines for an electric-vehicle electrician training fund, set funding priorities for fiscal year 2025–26 and approved up to $2.5 million in assistance for contractors impacted by recent Los Angeles-area wildfires.

The panel approved individual ETP awards for the following applicants (motion and roll-call votes were read aloud and all recorded votes were in favor): Structure Therapeutics USA Inc., doing business as Structure Therapeutics — $189,000 to train 90 workers at its South San Francisco location; Olive Oil Factory LLC — $110,880 to train 99 workers in Fairfield; Cepheid (ET contract 25-0255) — $598,080 to train 356 workers at locations in Lodi, Sunnyvale, Newark and Fremont; Altos Labs Inc. (25-0247) — $472,500 to train 375 workers in Redwood City and San Diego; BK Lighting Inc. — $204,120 to train 90 workers in Madera; Mass Precision Inc. (25-0271) — $344,960 to train 224 workers in San Jose and Fremont; and Pasadena City College (25-0261) — $407,824 to train 218 workers across Fresno, Los Angeles, Monterey and San Bernardino counties. Several other items were approved on the consent calendar (four projects totaling $674,430) and staff reported six delegation orders totaling $332,920 had been approved under delegated authority by the director.

Why it matters: the contracts represent training investments intended to upskill California workers in manufacturing, life sciences, food production, and other industries. The panel also voted to make targeted program adjustments and to dedicate emergency funding to contractors affected by wildfires, signaling a focus on both workforce development and disaster recovery for employers in impacted regions.

Key discussion points and clarifications - Training providers and repeat vendors: multiple panel members asked contractors about their choice of training vendors and whether those vendors run joint classes that mix trainees from different employers. Panel members flagged frequent use of one consulting vendor across several proposals and asked contractors to confirm that course content would be customized and that employers would monitor performance. Structure Therapeutics and Altos Labs representatives both said training would be customized and that they would exercise oversight of vendor materials and delivery. - Performance and turnover concerns: reviewers questioned several applicants on prior-contract performance and turnover. Olive Oil Factory and BK Lighting described workforce changes since their last contracts (maternity leave, a small on-site food service pilot that closed), and Mass Precision cited retirements and housing pressures in the Bay Area as reasons for turnover. Cepheid explained that a 2024 workforce reduction in Bay Area locations and a consolidation to Lodi largely accounted for a transient increase in turnover while they expand Lodi operations. - Wage progression and retention: panel members pressed Altos Labs and others to clarify anticipated wage progression for trained workers; Altos Labs said it conducts biannual compensation reviews and uses multiple market benchmarks.

Votes at a glance (actions recorded from the transcript) - Motion to approve Structure Therapeutics — outcome: approved (vote: 8–0) - Motion to approve Olive Oil Factory LLC — outcome: approved (8–0) - Motion to approve Cepheid (25-0255) — outcome: approved (8–0) - Motion to approve Altos Labs Inc. (25-0247) — outcome: approved (8–0) - Motion to approve BK Lighting Inc. — outcome: approved (8–0) - Motion to approve Mass Precision Inc. (25-0271) — outcome: approved (8–0) - Motion to approve Pasadena City College (25-0261) — outcome: approved (8–0) - Consent calendar (revised): four projects totaling $674,430 — outcome: approved (8–0) - Delegation orders acknowledged (six orders previously approved by the director) totaling $332,920 (staff report) - Motion to allocate up to $2,500,000 from ETP’s out-of-state competition funds to support contractors impacted by Los Angeles wildfires — outcome: approved (8–0) - Motion to adopt amended guidelines for the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP fund) — outcome: approved (8–0) - Motion to approve fiscal year 2025–26 reimbursement rates, project caps, allocations and moratorium list — outcome: approved (8–0) - Motion on priority-industry NAICS recommendations (panel adopted staff additions and, after discussion, retained the computer-systems-design code group rather than removing it) — outcome: approved as modified (8–0)

Staff noted program totals and demand figures during the meeting. Staff reported the panel meeting was processing roughly $3.0 million in panel-level awards for the day (this figure encompassed the projects on the consent calendar and delegation orders as described by staff), and separately the panel approved up to $2.5 million for wildfire assistance. Staff also reported 222 applications in demand statewide with an estimated combined demand of about $110.3 million across single-employer, small-business and multiple-employer contractors.

Other administrative and process notes - Apprenticeship funding window for FY 2025–26: staff said the apprenticeship solicitation will open in mid-May (target May 13) and close June 23 with a tentative September panel review; final caps for apprenticeship awards will be set according to demand. - FY 2025–26 funding priorities and caps approved: allocations recommended by staff and approved by the panel were Single Employer 40%, Small Business 5%, Critical Proposals 5%, Multiple Employer Contractors (MEC) 25% and Apprenticeship 25%. Project caps remain: $600,000 single employer; $850,000 for critical proposals and MECs. Reimbursement rates kept at current levels: $11 for computer-based training, $22 for apprenticeship, $24 (non-priority industry) and $28 for retraining. Staff also recommended continuing moratoriums on several industry types (adult entertainment, car dealerships, gambling, mortgage banking, multilevel marketing, professional partners/principals, etc.) and the panel approved that list.

What’s next: staff will repost the EVITP solicitation if the amended guidelines are approved and proceed with the apprenticeship application window; contractors funded today will work with staff on implementation and reporting as specified in their awards.

Ending: the panel concluded the meeting with unanimous votes on the listed items and adjourned at 11:09 a.m.