CLW Enterprises pursues California Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI) program proposal

INTRODUCTORY COURSE TO CALIFORNIA BUILDING, ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SYSTEMS’ HIGH-TECH CAREER PATHWAYS

Business Case by Corey Lee Wilson 11-3-21:

This California Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI) pre-apprenticeship proposal is a statewide program serving high school, vocational, and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations related to energy reduction, resource conservation, and environmental sustainability.

Upon review of the request for application, CLW Enterprises' program proposal appears to meet workforce development requirements for the four groups most impacted by pandemic job losses—women, younger workers, less educated workers, and Latino workers—and the four are not mutually exclusive.

This program is long-term, non-traditional and educates, promotes and energizes an emerging workforce demographic interested in the following skilled industry sectors in high demand:

• Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Designers and Installers

• Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

• Electrical Utility Installers and Repairers

• Electricians

• Electric Vehicle Mechanics

• Facility and Operations Managers

• Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVACR) Mechanics and Installers

• Solar and Wind Power Systems Installers

Furthermore, this introductory program synergizes and enhances many of the congruent and successful elements of these three organizations and their related programs/reports:

• International Facility Management Association (IFMA): Global Workforce Initiative (GWI) https://foundation.ifma.org/global-workforce-initiative/

• California Community College (CCC): Energy, Construction and Utilities (ECU) Sector https://desertcolleges.org/dsn/energy.php

• UC Berkeley Labor Center: Putting California on the High Road—A Jobs and Climate Action Plan for 2030 https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/high-road-jobs-and-climate-action-lessons-from-california-for-the-nation/

Grant application components requirements

By utilizing a fusion of the best elements of these three organizations’ goals and objectives, we are targeting these high tech fields for an introductory course with a recognition of completion for passing each module successfully. Furthermore, the program meets the grant application components of:

• Need

• Response to Need

• Work Plan

• Budget

• Project Management

• Outreach & Dissemination

This pre-apprenticeship program is designed at the K12 and K14 levels as the first step in creating interest and enthusiasm for these highly skilled and technical occupations critical for California’s economic and environmental success, as well as energizing the labor workforce pool necessary to prime the existing and/or new apprenticeship pipelines.

The program also educates students and incumbent workers about these high-tech professions; shows them the available career paths throughout California to get there, and how investing in their future meets their financial goals.

Finally, the introductory program shows how future training investments can deliver the skills required to perform these high-quality jobs and broaden access for all workers that in turn will help California meet its zero net energy (ZNE) goas by 2045. It also provides recommendations on the transition for workers in declining and non-renewable energy sectors to renewable and sustaining ones.

Over the last 15 years, California has emerged as a national and world leader in the fight to avoid climate disaster, passing a comprehensive and evolving suite of climate measures to accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. The state has also emerged as a national leader in embracing economic equity as a goal for state policy, charting a path towards a new social compact for shared prosperity in a rapidly changing world.

This program presents a framework for California to advance that agenda as well as strengthen the existing IFMA, CCC, and UC Berkeley Labor Center objectives and our emerging young adult workforce.

The CAI grant proposal submittal deadline is December 17, 2021

To qualify for this grant, pre-apprenticeship programs must be registered by the Department of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), and, in order that they ensure a pathway to an apprenticeship program, must have a documented partnership with at least one apprenticeship program registered by DAS.

If you are interested in supporting our grant program proposal and are part of a congruent and registered DAS program, we would love to partner with you, or at least, receive a Letter of Support. If either is possible, please contact Corey Lee Wilson at clwenterprises@att.net or call (951) 415-3002 for more details and to discuss potential partnering scenarios.