A $500,000 workforce development grant will help El Camino College create new and innovative apprenticeship opportunities in the aerospace manufacturing field. After a competitive selection process, El Camino College was one of 11 colleges throughout the state chosen to participate in the California Apprenticeship Initiative program, which targets priority and emerging industry sectors where apprenticeship training does not exist.
El Camino College, though its Career Pathways program, will develop an aerospace technician apprenticeship program. The program is designed to support employers sponsoring apprentices, curriculum development, equipment purchases, apprentice recruitment, and participation incentives, with a goal of creating a long-term California Division of Apprenticeship Standards-approved apprenticeship program. Funding comes from the California Apprenticeship Initiative – New and Innovative Grant Program, in the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, Workforce and Economic Development Division.
Employers/partners on the grant include: Ampaire, Inc.; California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC); Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII); Impresa Aerospace, LLC; L3 Technologies, Electron Devices; MAG Aerospace Industries, LLC; Magnetika, Inc.; MORF3D; Northrop Grumman Corporation; S&H Machine; South Bay Workforce Investment Board (SBWIB); Space Vector Corporation; and Verisurf Software, Inc. California has the largest apprenticeship system in the country, with many of the existing programs connected directly with California Community Colleges. For more information about El Camino College Career Pathways, view http://www.elcamino.edu/academics/cte/careerpathways/.