Last year, the San Diego & Imperial Center of Excellence (COE) found that the state needed to pick up the pace to meet its goal of registering 500,000 apprentices by 2029. In response, our 2024 report provided four recommendations on how to expand apprenticeship programs in San Diego & Imperial Counties.

In our new report, Building Apprenticeship Capacity, we examine the progress made in each of our recommendations and provide an updated analysis of the state of apprenticeships in the region. The findings resulted in a singular, actionable recommendation: Each college establish an apprenticeship lead.

Recognizing the challenges of creating new positions at each college, the report outlines strategies for leveraging resources and collaborating with the San Diego & Imperial Community Colleges Regional Consortium to establish dedicated apprenticeship roles.

Check out key highlights from the report below!

Report Highlights

Achieving the region’s goal requires developing new apprenticeship programs and the expansion of existing ones. The 2024 report identified 136 high-wage, high-demand occupations in San Diego County and 129 in Imperial County that have already been approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), the state agency responsible for regulating and approving apprenticeship programs, highlighting promising opportunities for apprenticeships.

Despite the availability of funding resources, robust technical assistance, and connections to employers showing interest in developing apprenticeship programs, there has been limited progress since 2024 in developing new registered apprenticeship programs in the San Diego and Imperial region.

A primary issue is that capacity constraints pose significant challenges to scaling apprenticeships in the region. The findings of the report led to a singular, actionable recommendation: Each college should establish an apprenticeship lead.

Without a dedicated leader at each college to oversee program development, the previous report’s recommendations—develop new and expand existing programs, develop pre-apprenticeships to address equity gaps, create and maintain a centralized system to track data, and establish a regional intermediary—are unlikely to move forward at the pace needed to achieve the region’s goals. Responsibilities for this role may include:

• Applying for grants
• Overseeing the registration and management of new programs
• Coordinating with regional partners, college leadership, and faculty
• Tracking data and outcomes

Colleges that require support to create and fund these positions should work with the San Diego & Imperial Counties Community Colleges Regional Consortium to explore opportunities and solutions. To learn more, read the report here.