Apprenticeship program creating new career opportunities for members
Upward mobility is a union value, and Local 1000 continues to create new and innovative apprenticeship program opportunities for members.
Apprenticeships couple on-the-job training with related study and instruction in order to increase workers’ skills and allow them to be more competitive in the job market. At the same time, workers continue to receive their full income, avoiding financial barriers that otherwise would prevent them from obtaining needed education and new skills.
LVN to RN Apprenticeships
We recently expanded our nursing program to Southern California when we registered our first group of apprentices in the Riverside City College LVN-to-RN Apprenticeship Program. Within this program, specifically designed to provide nursing instruction to apprentices in mostly rural locations, LVNs from Kern Valley State Prison, Wasco State Prison, Ironwood State Prison, Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, and California Institution for Men began classes on August 24. In less than one year, they will walk away with an Associate’s Degree in Nursing and become Registered Nurses.
We plan to open application periods for the Riverside City College and San Joaquin Delta College LVN-to-RN apprenticeship programs again this fall.
IT Apprenticeships
We’re also processing a new group of applicants for the next group of IT apprentices — a program designed to provide on-the-job IT training and instruction with a help desk/client services focus. A total of five departments participated in this cycle, including first-timers CalSTRS and CalTrans.
Last year we received funding to create a Cybersecurity Apprenticeship program, which looks to launch in Spring 2021. The plan is to create this as a statewide opportunity available to members almost anywhere. With cybersecurity being a hot topic and urgent issue for the state, we anticipate widespread department participation.