Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers question CWDB staff reductions while supporting apprenticeship grant expansions
Summary
The California Workforce Development Board said its staffing reductions reflect the end of one‑time grant cycles but proposed expanding apprenticeship and pre‑apprenticeship grants (raising annual apprenticeship grants from $3M to $20M through 2030). Senators asked how cuts would affect grant administration and vulnerable workers; CWDB and DoF said reductions follow expiring one‑time funding.
The California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) presented its budget requests to the subcommittee on April 21, seeking to right‑size staff after a surge of one‑time grant funding and to expand apprenticeship and pre‑apprenticeship support.
Joelle Ball, CWDB chief deputy, explained the board staffed up in response to a temporary influx of state grant funding and is proposing reductions as those grant cycles close. Emily Sunohara, deputy director of operations, said the proposed staffing adjusts the board toward baseline funding levels while preserving policy functions.
Committee members, led by Senator Durazo, pressed whether shrinking staff (from a temporarily expanded level toward a proposed baseline) would undermine grant programs that continue to serve low‑income and immigrant communities. CWDB and Department of Finance staff said the positions were tied to specific one‑time grants and that the reductions are phased over five years; they noted technical assistance roles are being scaled to match available funding. DoF confirmed fund reallocation decisions and argued the change is not intended to abandon workforce policy priorities.
On apprenticeship spending, DIR asked for roughly $18.2 million annually from the Apprenticeship Training Contribution Fund (ATCF) to increase building and construction training grants from $3 million to $20 million per year through FY 2029–30. DIR said the ATCF balance is about $80 million and that increased grants would expand training capacity for infrastructure and Los Angeles fire recovery work. Lawmakers asked why the increase has a 2030 sunset rather than being made permanent; DIR said it prefers a multiyear pilot that it will revisit with the Legislature.
On pre‑apprenticeships, DIR described rapid growth (4 programs in 2021 to 21 in 2024 and a projection to 170 by 2029) and requested positions and funds to manage registrations and oversight. Committee members asked for data on completion and placement rates; DAS staff said they track matriculation into registered apprenticeships and will provide follow‑up metrics.
Public commenters later in the hearing largely backed continued funding for the California Workplace Outreach Program (CWAP) and urged the Legislature to maintain enforcement staffing at DIR to ensure grants have impact on workers.
Next steps: CWDB/DIR agreed to follow up with the committee on apprenticeship fund balances, program outcome metrics, and the case for making grant increases permanent beyond 2030.
