By Larry Urish, contributing writer

When it comes to apprenticeships, everybody wins. Apprentices are paid while learning in-demand occupations; employers appreciate the influx of trained workers; and the community as a whole gets a social and economic boost with higher employment rates and the associated benefits that result.

Knowing this, state leaders have emphasized the growth of apprenticeship programs throughout California. According to California’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the Golden State is home to nearly 93,000 registered apprentices in 300 educational institutions who are trained through partnerships with some 36,000 participating employers. An estimated 8,000 apprentices graduate every year. Moving forward, these numbers are expected to rise.

Santiago Canyon College continues to be a leader in this statewide push to expand apprenticeship programs. California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian selected Rancho Santiago Community College District Chancellor Marvin Martinez to promote the Apprenticeship Pathways Demonstration Project, an effort that aligns with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goal to serve 500,000 apprentices by 2029.

Martinez, in turn, named Elizabeth Arteaga, SCC’s dean of Apprenticeship Programs, to spearhead the statewide project. This makes sense, since SCC furnishes the second-largest apprenticeship program among the 116 California Community Colleges.

“Only 25 of these colleges have some type of apprenticeship program,” Arteaga said. “Our role is to expand that.”

SCC programs that focus on the traditional trades — those that involve partnerships between the college and professional trade organizations — lead to jobs as electricians, power linemen, operating engineers, surveyors, machine operators and more. The most popular apprenticeship offered by SCC, carpentry, reflects the ongoing expansion of the college’s apprenticeship program in general. Some 3,800 of the 5,700 SCC apprentices are learning a variety of carpentry crafts.

“Our growth is based on how a given industry is doing,” Arteaga said. “And carpentry has been doing very well. I’m confident that it will continue to grow.”

SCC has partnered with the Southwest Carpenters’ Training Fund. “Whenever new apprentices are approved by Southwest Carpenters, they then apply to our college and become our students,” Arteaga said. “The apprenticeship candidates are vetted through the carpenters. Once they’re admitted, they can choose what carpentry craft they go into. For every craft that we have, students can earn a certificate of achievement and an associate degree.”

Santiago Canyon College offers 11 carpentry craft apprenticeships, Arteaga said, including, among other specialties, general carpenter, insulator, millwright, pile driver, plasterer, drywall lather and framer.

Along with traditional trade apprenticeships, SCC is pushing to offer nontraditional apprenticeships, those in occupations that don’t involve partnerships with trade organizations. This includes an assortment of professions not normally associated with apprenticeship programs: public accountants, biotechnicians, medical assistants, certified nursing assistants, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, water operators and subsurface utility engineering technicians.

“These are all currently under development,” Arteaga said. “We’re building the curriculum. It takes about two years to get an apprenticeship program started on the nontraditional side. It involves working with the state’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards.”

Another nontraditional apprenticeship program, Early Childhood Education, has been up and running since last spring, Arteaga noted. Students in the 18-month program can work a maximum of 29.5 hours a week while serving as apprentices. Once they finish their training, they receive a California Childhood Development Teacher’s Certificate. They then have the option of working in the field or continuing on to earn an associate degree. “We’re opening 25 spots every semester for Early Childhood Education students,” Arteaga said.

She emphasized the importance of Related Supplemental Instruction, the classroom-based component of any apprenticeship program. “RSI is structured in a way to teach apprentices the technical and theoretical knowledge they need for their occupation,” Arteaga said. “It can take the form of online courses or community college classes, and it supplements the on-the-job training that apprentices receive. The recommended amount of RSI is 144 hours per program year. The RSI Program provides funding to support ongoing apprenticeship programs. The funding can be used to pay for RSI costs.”

It’s been said that any organization’s success is a direct reflection of its top leaders, and Santiago Canyon College is no exception. When it comes to the college’s apprenticeship programs, SCC’s president, Jeannie Kim, has been very helpful, Arteaga said. “Our college president has been extremely supportive,” she said. “Without her leadership, we wouldn’t have the kind of robust program that we have. She created a separate apprenticeship department and has hired people with apprenticeship backgrounds to run these programs, including a full-time apprenticeship counselor who works directly with the students. Her support has been essential.”

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