Building California’s future means investing in apprenticeships

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OPINION – This summer, California overtook Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world.  Our state’s economic strength isn’t just about our size or market power in sectors ranging from technology to agriculture.  It is also about the economic and physical infrastructure we’ve built to connect producers to markets, power emerging industries, and to invest in the development of a world class workforce.

Today, that work has never been more important.

From billions in federal and state dollars flowing to repair highways and bridges, to efforts to expand affordable housing, modernize energy and utility systems, and rebuild communities devastated by wildfires, demand for skilled trade workers is surging. Policymakers, contractors, and communities across our state are asking: Where will we find the sufficiently skilled workers to get it all done?

The answer has been here since 1937. It lies in California’s system of registered apprenticeship.  California trains more apprentices than any other state, in large part because of the network of Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees (JATCs) that train vast majority of our skilled construction workforce.

One recent study found that union-affiliated JATCs run 87 percent of all registered apprenticeship programs and produce 93 percent of our state’s skilled-trade workers. In 2023, more than 10,500 apprentices graduated into journey-level careers—a 62% growth rate since 2013–and nine out of ten came from JATC programs.  This included more than 90% of women and people of color choosing to pursue careers in the construction industry.

The impact of JATCs cannot be overstated. They are the difference between whether California has enough qualified workers to safely and efficiently build the homes, schools, transit lines, and energy and utility systems our fast-growing economy cannot function without.

What makes JATCs a uniquely effective workforce development model is their design as a partnership between employers and labor unions.  This provides employers a stable and sufficiently skilled labor force for a diverse array of projects, and offers workers the kind of job quality that attaches them to long-term careers in the industry.

Financed through collectively bargained “cents-per-hour” contributions made for every hour a union tradesperson works, JATC programs deliver consistent investment in our industry’s long-term workforce development—regardless of market cycles.  Participants pay no tuition, incur no debt, and actually receive a paycheck while they learn the skills required of an electrician, a plumber, carpenter, heavy equipment operator or any number of other in-demand trades.

The results speak for themselves.  According to the latest data, California’s JATC programs produce better graduation rates and deliver more training hours than California’s four-year colleges, offer wages that rival the average wages of recent college graduates, and wage increases that have kept pace with inflation.  And, all of it without the crushing student debt that currently burdens 3.8 million Californians.

While the non-unionized side of the construction industry also offers registered apprenticeships, their programs unfortunately have a long track record of falling short of industry demand.

A big reason why is because they lack an institutional financing mechanism and rely on voluntary contributions from employers.  Because workforce development is a long-term proposition, this creates an incentive to forego training in an effort to lower bids and win short term work.  Research suggests this is precisely what is happening, with non-union firms much more likely to experience the labor shortages that can throw projects off track, and substantially more likely to suffer from safety problems or lower workforce productivity that often lead to higher costs on the jobsite.

The data also shows that employer-only programs are failing to deliver the kind of job quality that keeps new workers in the industry—offering lower wages than the JATC alternative, and wage growth that has lagged well behind inflation.

Ultimately, as California grapples with historic demand for new housing, climate resilience, and other critical infrastructure, it is tempting to look for shortcuts. But there are no shortcuts when it comes to developing a reliable supply of sufficiently skilled construction workers.

That is why contracting standards and public policies that promote apprentice utilization and investment are so critical. For example, prevailing wage laws and project labor agreements each protect the ability of union and non-union contractors to compete for work.  But they also ensure that whoever wins project bids is investing in the next generation of skilled trade workers through registered apprenticeships.

This really matters, because at the end of the day, California’s future will only be as strong as our willingness to invest in the skilled workers that bring each new project to life.

Dina Morsi, the Executive Director at NorCal Construction Industry Compliance (NCIC), a non-partisan industry watchdog.