The Employment Training Panel approved 31 proposals at its January meeting, including five Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED) grants and multiple single- and multi-employer training contracts, the panel chair said. The panel’s chief of program operations and budget staff told members the meeting would consider roughly $6.4 million in funding.

The approvals included five SEED grant awards of $200,000 each to nonprofit organizations (Afghan Coalition; Chico Economic Planning Corporation/Chico Start; MCS Economic Development Corporation; Nurture; and UDW Resource Center). The panel also approved multiple single-employer and multiple-employer contracts and one critical proposal from Applied Materials.

Why it matters: The panel’s approvals fund training and workforce development projects across industries including manufacturing, health care, construction and recycling, and include targeted seed grants intended to support small and immigrant-owned businesses in several California regions.

Key funding and demand figures presented to the panel: staff reported the panel meeting agenda covered about $6,400,000 in funding requests; delegation orders for the fiscal year total about $704,312 to date; seven projects on the consent calendar totaled $1,148,504; and demand across applications in the pipeline was reported as 196 applications with an estimated combined value of about $103,700,000.

Notable approvals (tab number and amount as presented)
- Scaled Composites LLC (tab 7): $205,632 (repeat contractor; Kern County). Motion approved.
- Diamond Technologies Inc. (DBA Diamond IT) (tab 14): $110,740 (repeat contractor; Kern County). Motion approved with an agreed post-retention wage of $22.00/hour.
- Carlton Forge Works LLC (tab 13): $382,592 (first-time contractor; Los Angeles County). Motion approved.
- TruAir Mechanical Inc. (tab 15; contract ET25-0218): $310,464 (first-time contractor; multiple counties). Motion approved.
- Bell/ Ball Seal Engineering LLC (tab 16): $396,704 (new contractor; Orange County). Motion approved; the motion included staff-approved alternative record-keeping for the project.
- Hal Hayes Construction Inc. (tab 18): $140,000 (new contractor; Riverside County). Motion approved; the transcript records the final tally as 6 yes with 1 abstention (abstention not named in the transcript).
- Chevron Corporation (tab 19): $459,200 (repeat contractor; Contra Costa County). Motion approved.
- ATCO Drywall & Metal Framing Inc. (tab 20): $367,500 (repeat contractor). Motion approved.
- Applied Materials Inc. (tab 21, critical proposal): $849,800 (repeat contractor; Santa Clara/Sunnyvale). Motion approved.
- Recology Service Center (tab 22): $164,220 (new contractor; multiple Northern California sites). Motion approved.
- California Baptist University (tab 23; contract ET25-0232): $531,840 (multiple-employer contract to support medical assistant/scribe training). Motion approved.
- California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP) (tab 24): $453,300 (statewide SUD workforce training). Motion approved.
- SEED grants (tabs 8–12): Afghan Coalition ($200,000); Chico Economic Planning Corporation / Chico Start ($200,000); MCS Economic Development Corporation ($200,000); Nurture ($200,000); UDW Resource Center ($200,000). All five motions approved.

Panel process and public comment: most items were moved, seconded and approved by roll-call vote. Staff recorded no public comments on the majority of proposals; where public comment existed it was noted in the transcript and addressed before the vote. Several proposals were removed or withdrawn from the consent calendar prior to the vote (Alpine Corporation and Scale/Scaled Composites were removed earlier; Karma Automotive withdrew its proposal).

Background and next steps: Laura Campbell, chief of program operations, and budget staff said regions will continue to monitor proposals in development and move approved projects into contracting. Panel staff noted they will continue to post updated program guidelines and solicitations (including a forthcoming solicitation tied to updated EV infrastructure training guidelines). The panel’s next regular meeting is scheduled for February 28.

Ending: Panel members expressed appreciation for staff work on the packets and for the applicants. Staff asked members to flag any proposals they would like pulled from future consent calendars prior to votes.