Building Pathways into LA’s Top Industries through High Road Training Partnerships

Why this investment?

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Los Angeles County workers hard. In the first several months of the crisis, the County lost over 716,000 jobs and saw 15,000 businesses either permanently or temporarily closed. Across the state, people of color, young people, women, and individuals with limited education experienced disproportionate unemployment.

When the ARPA funding opportunity arrived in 2021, Los Angeles County’s DEO sought to use the funds to foster an equitable economic recovery for the community. Following the equity principles and priorities adopted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors after strong community advocacy, the DEO put forth the idea to launch a series of new High Road Training Partnership programs that would connect marginalized workers to quality jobs and career opportunities in the County’s major growth industries through worker and employer-informed training programs. LoBianco explains that the idea was to prepare workers for “the jobs that exist today and tomorrow.”

Based on a state demonstration project, High Road Training Partnerships prioritize populations that have been historically disinvested and key industries that need to be bolstered and renewed. This includes “high road” industries like technology and media that pay family-supporting wages as well as “opportunity sectors” such as childcare where many people of color are already working but often for low wages and with little opportunity for career advancement. As LoBianco puts it, the DEO wanted to focus on creating pathways to good jobs in the industries that “make LA, LA.”

What is this investment?

High Road Training Partnerships are based on the concept piloted by the State of California that good workforce development requires collective industry, employer, and worker support. It brings together industry, education and training providers, labor, and community to build training models that meet evolving employer needs and promote job quality, equity, sustainability, and worker voice.  The DEO has prioritized developing training partnerships within six industry sectors: 1) construction; 2) healthcare; 3) aerospace; 4) technology; 5) early childhood education; and 6) film and digital media. DEO also plans to launch a High Road Training Partnership grant program in 2024 that allows local partnerships across high-growth and opportunity sectors a chance to pitch and fund their projects while also accessing capacity-building from the County and workforce development experts in designing and deploying these models effectively.

In addition to taking a “dual customer” (employer and worker) approach to workforce development, the program works to affect systems change to build a more equitable labor market, tailoring its approach to the current needs within each industry sector. For a sector like technology, this looks like building a pipeline of talent that can diversify its workforce, while for a sector like early education, it means creating more opportunities for upward mobility. The program works with employers to examine these challenges and then builds and tests solutions, aiming to make local and targeted hiring a regular industry practice. 

Los Angeles County’s aim is to build training partnerships with at least 20 employers, enroll at least 1,600 workers overall, graduate 1,360, and place at least 1020 in permanent jobs. The first partnership in film and digital media launched in March 2022, construction in October 2022, early care and education pathway began in April 2024, and the aerospace healthcare, and technology pathways are slated to start later in 2024.

These High Road Training Partnerships are currently in action and illustrate DEO’s tailored approach by sector:

• The construction pathway will increase the number of pre-apprenticeships available with the local building trades’ Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) program at the Apprenticeship Readiness Fund, a 120-hour construction course with hands-on training, a physical fitness component, and placement support to access living-wage union jobs. Pre-apprenticeships are a proven onramp to construction careers for workers from underrepresented groups.
• In the film and digital media training pathway with Venice Arts, at least 300 youth from historically underrepresented groups will be exposed to careers in these industries, assistance accessing internships, pre-apprenticeships like Digital Editing and Storytelling, and paid training opportunities, and job search and placement support. DEP has also recently supplemented a $3 million California Workforce Development Board grant for an Arts Media and Entertainment High Road Training Partnership that brings together community-based organizations, public sector agencies, employers, labor partners, and workers to support 700+ diverse apprenticeships in areas like editing and production and gaming and animation. 
• The aerospace pathway is focused on young people (ages 18-24) living in the Antelope Valley—an underserved community home to the largest prison system in the country. The Lost Angels social enterprise is offering paid training in classic car restoration, where they learn welding, fabrication, engine assembly, electrical, bodywork, and composites—all preparation for machinist, composite technician, and other jobs in the region’s aerospace and defense industry. Lost Angels then provides job placement and wraparound supports to ensure the training leads to a living-wage job.
• In early care and education, DEO is supporting 90 participants to complete an Assistant Teacher Apprenticeship in partnership with the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), Child Care Resources Center (CCRC), and local community colleges. 
• The healthcare pathway with the Pilipino Worker Center will support career mobility for 100 home health aide workers by providing a 9 week in-depth training and employment supports to either join a home care worker cooperative, increase pay at their current jobs, or gain new employment with clients or agencies offering strong labor standards and increased wages.

Centering equity in the program

High Road Training Partnerships prioritizes Los Angeles County residents who are unemployed or disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and industry sectors that offer or need support in providing quality jobs and career pathways with family-sustaining wages. Priority workforce populations include people identifying as BIPOC or LGBTQ+, women, public benefits recipients, people who are justice-involved or unhoused, and current or former foster youth. DEO aims to diversify industries that have historically been less accessible to a wide range of communities and individuals. The program emphasizes quality in its training programs, seeking to train workers to not only meet baseline credentials but also to be the most competitive candidates for job opportunities.

ARPA funds offer greater flexibility than the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds the DEO is historically used to working with, which has allowed them to bolster programs to meet the needs of workers that need more wraparound support to complete training programs and attain higher-paying jobs. For example, in addition to increasing the number of pre-apprenticeships available with the building trades, the DEO was also able to offer stipends to participants, which is difficult to do with WIOA funds. The DEO also dedicated $2 million in ARPA funds to a Worker Equity Fund, which provides $1,500 of flexible cash assistance for transportation, childcare, rent, or any other needs that can pose barriers for individuals to participate in the training program. To date, the fund has supported 300 participants. 

With the program underway, the DEO seeks to learn from current challenges and opportunities and understand what program elements are most important to participants’ success. “Do we get the level of stipends right to make the opportunity cost go away for staying in the program and completing the program?” LoBianco asks. “Do we give you this stipend, or a one-time coverage of your childcare? And is that the game changer and your success in the field?” 

The DEO is pleased with employers and training partners’ commitment to the program and believes deepening those relationships is critical to achieving its systems change goals. LoBianco says that employer feedback will be crucial to ensure their training programs are producing the talent they are looking for, which is what will drive the continued connections to and investment in underserved communities needed to achieve equitable outcomes.

Outcomes to date

The currently launched High Road Training Partnerships have built partnerships with 60 employers and enrolled 315 individuals in the initial construction, film and digital media, and early care and education sectoral training programs and supportive services. Of those enrolled, 195 individuals have completed the program to date with 152 successful placements in jobs with a $20.15/hour median wage. More than 63 percent of participants are from communities highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic based on the County’s Equity Explorer Mapping Tool. 

The film and digital media pathway has recruited 21 employers to provide internships and introduced 301 youth to career pathways in the industry—100 percent of them from priority populations. So far, 45 of the youth have completed training programs, 13 have completed pre-apprenticeships, and 46 have secured internships, subsidized, or unsubsidized employment.

As the DEO is conducting an evaluation of its construction pathway program, testimonials from participating workers and employers signal its success. Upon graduating from the LAUSD MC3 Apprenticeship Program in October 2023, Jessica Sabrinna Alonzo said, “I have overcome so many barriers while being in this program. I am more independent because of it. I am applying to the Local 300 Laborers Union in Los Angeles County and I hope that I get to be a future instructor to support my two daughters.” Hensel Phelps, the contractor on a $1.7 billion public works project to replace the outdated UCLA Harbor Works medical center by 2027, described how the program has ensured a pipeline of workers to build the 72-acre medical facility. Since the launch of the construction pathway program in October 2022, 199 individuals have enrolled, 175 completed, and 148 of the graduates have been placed into employment opportunities, which includes 41 formal apprenticeships within the construction trades. 

Finally, the early care and education pathway – the Assistant Teacher Apprenticeship Program with LACOE and West LA College - has enrolled 40 apprentices for their two-year program so far. Additional cohorts with Pierce and Antelope Valley Colleges kick off this fall of 2024.

Toward transformative change

The DEO views High Road Training Partnerships as an opportunity to build new relationships and develop a concrete value proposition for this new approach to workforce development, ultimately working to transform the system. 

Recognizing that the level of systems change will take years to achieve, the DEO is actively considering how to extend the partnerships program after the ARPA funding is spent down (by the end of 2026). Although competitive and therefore limited, Los Angeles County will likely pursue grant opportunities at the state and federal level.