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Employment Training Panel approves about $25.3 million for 88 apprenticeship proposals; members call for funding-review workgroup
Summary
The Employment Training Panel voted to fund 88 apprenticeship proposals totaling roughly $25.3 million at its September meeting. Panel members raised equity and accounting concerns about how funding is allocated across large multi-occupation programs and asked staff to form a policy working group to review distribution methods.
The California Employment Training Panel approved funding for 88 apprenticeship proposals totaling approximately $25.3 million at its September meeting, while several members urged staff to convene a policy working group to review how the program allocates scarce funds across large and small apprenticeship providers.
The panel voted in favor of the funding recommendations after staff outlined that the meeting would consider roughly $25,300,000 in awards, including five delegation orders totaling $209,353. Chief Deputy Laura Campbell said the proposals before the panel, if approved, would fund 88 projects for a total of $25,141,115 and noted 257 applications remain in demand for about $75,000,000.
The decision followed a lengthy review of grouped proposals. Staff and presenters repeatedly told the panel that each proposal met statutory and regulatory eligibility criteria for ETP contracts. As staff put it during the review, “all meet the criteria and eligibility requirements to hold their own contract.”
Several panel members pressed applicants and staff about perceived inequities when organizations divide large apprenticeship programs into multiple occupation-specific contracts. Panel member Gretchen Newsome raised questions about fairness, pointing out that similar dollar awards sometimes go to programs with widely different recent graduation counts. David Espinosa, the newly appointed executive director for a Laborers training school, responded: “I am doing everything possible within the rules that exist today.” Willie Atkinson, ETP’s assessment and program division manager, told the panel the staff uses standard methods to size awards and will work with the panel to clarify how numbers are calculated going forward.
Panel members and staff agreed to pursue a deeper policy-level review. The chair said the next steps should include a working-group conversation and possible policy committee referral to consider whether the agency should change how it accounts for registered apprentices, journeypersons, per-program award sizing, or other features of the funding formula.
Votes at a glance - Outcome: Funding approvals adopted for the 88 proposals presented at the September meeting (approvals taken in grouped motions across the agenda). Recorded roll-call votes during the meeting showed unanimous or near-unanimous 'Aye' votes on each grouped motion. (Panel roll calls recorded across the meeting.)
Why this matters ETP’s funding supports employer-driven apprenticeship programs that train thousands of workers statewide. At the meeting, staff said ETP closed 64 contracts since July 2025 that resulted in roughly $16.7 million in contractor earnings and 13,607 trainees completing training and meeting post-retention wage requirements. Panel members said they want to ensure the remaining and future funds are distributed in ways that maximize equity and impact across occupations and regions.
What’s next Staff will propose next steps for a policy work group to examine distribution methodologies, curriculum reporting, and how apprentice versus journeyperson counts should factor into award sizing. The panel did not withhold funding for current proposals; the policy review is aimed at future allocation refinements.
