Newsom Announces $44.4 Million for 49,000 New Apprenticeships; California Has Backed 694,000 Earn-and-Learn Opportunities Since 2019
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced in Bakersfield, Kern County, on Friday, October 16, that the state will invest $44.4 million to train 49,000 new apprentices through 131 programs statewide. Since 2019, California has supported more than 694,000 earn-and-learn opportunities, including nearly 267,000 registered apprentices, according to the governor's office.
Newsom made the announcement in Kern County after meeting skilled workers training to become telecommunications installers and wirepersons who will build and maintain the power, lighting, controls and electrical systems that keep businesses and industries running. The governor's office said the latest investment has two parts: $15.9 million through the Apprenticeship Innovation Fund for 67 programs supporting approximately 10,000 people, and $28.5 million in Employment Training Panel funding for 64 apprenticeship programs expected to train an estimated 39,040 California workers.
Newsom said California is aligning its workforce strategies through record-breaking apprenticeship programs, noting that 1 in 30 Californians in the workforce has completed an earn-and-learn or apprenticeship program and describing the programs as pathways to sustaining good-paying jobs. Stewart Knox, Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, said every apprenticeship is an opportunity for Californians to build a future, and that the continued expansion of earn-and-learn opportunities gives more workers the tools to provide for their families and grow in their careers. Dr. Jessica Grimes, Executive Director of the Employment Training Panel, said apprenticeships have become one of the leading pathways to sustainable careers and that the panel will support nearly 40,000 workers in this round.
According to the governor's office, California has expanded non-traditional apprenticeships by 76% under Newsom, growing opportunities in health care, advanced manufacturing, technology and other high-demand sectors. The new apprenticeships bring total earn-and-learn opportunities to more than 694,000 since Newsom took office, surpassing his goal of creating 500,000 earn-and-learn apprenticeships by 2029. The state has served 266,756 registered apprentices over the same period, which the governor's office said puts California on track to meet a separate goal of serving 500,000 registered apprentices by 2029.
The governor's office also released state labor-market figures: from September 2025 through September 2026, California added 129,300 jobs, about 26% of the nation's 496,000 net payroll gain, growing at more than twice the national rate, while unemployment fell for ten consecutive months and the jobless rate held steady at 5.1%.
Figures released the same day by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) show the Apprenticeship Innovation Fund has invested a cumulative $88 million across 92 programs supporting nearly 40,000 apprentices, whose average total hourly compensation is $51.74. Newsom added: 'Our investments are paying off: California wages are 20 percent higher than the rest of the nation; California's productivity grew more than twice as fast as the rest of the nation.'
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 加州州长纽森在记者会上发言（资料图）。图片：加州州长办公室，公共领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference (file photo). Photo: Office of the Governor of California, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
