Cerritos College outlines apprenticeship pipeline — free classroom instruction plus paid on‑the‑job training
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Summary
Cerritos College presented apprenticeship programs for ironworkers, painters, electricians and new LA Metro rail and risk‑management tracks. Staff emphasized apprentices are paid on the job and tuition is covered by state funding; the college highlighted a grant to boost women’s participation, including up to $10,000 a year for childcare.
CERRITOS, Calif. — Representatives from Cerritos College described a growing apprenticeship portfolio to the Economic Development Commission on Jan. 13, pitching the programs as an earn‑and‑learn pathway that pairs paid on‑the‑job training with college instruction and industry certification.
Dr. Graciela Vasquez, instructional dean, and Program Facilitator Claudia Aguilar Gonzalez told commissioners the college offers multiple registered apprenticeship programs — including field iron workers (structural and reinforcing tracks), painting and decorating (PDCA), electrician trainees, and several rail‑operations occupations that are being developed with Los Angeles Metro. A new LA Metro risk‑management apprenticeship was described as a 13‑month pathway that prepares workers for positions handling workers’ compensation and safety claims.
Vasquez summarized the structure: apprentices are sponsored by employers or labor agencies, work on the job day one, and attend related classroom training at the college. "The apprentice does enroll in a official class at the college," she said, noting apprentices receive units and certificates and may later pursue associate or bachelor’s degrees tied to their trade.
Gonzalez highlighted supports for underserved groups, including a grant the presenters described as focusing on increasing women’s representation in construction apprenticeships; the grant provides outreach, mentoring and childcare funds “up to 10,000 a year.” The presenters also noted that state funding supports tuition for the apprenticeship courses and that apprentices are paid by their sponsoring employers for on‑the‑job work.
Commissioners asked whether local Cerritos businesses participate. Vasquez and Gonzalez said employers in relevant trades serve as sponsoring agencies and that local companies can participate; they invited city businesses to partner in creating programs. Commissioners asked about outcome metrics; staff said the Department of Apprenticeship Standards and state agencies collect completion and wage data, and an employer‑sponsored progression model provides step increases in pay as apprentices complete phases.
The college also noted a larger effort to add a bachelor’s degree in field iron work that is in the final stages of approval with the board of governors, allowing students to pursue leadership and supervisory roles after completing apprenticeship requirements. The item was informational and invited local employers to engage with program leads.
