FACT CHECK: Is it true that Gavin Newsom helped create 625,000 new jobs in California?

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As a 2018 gubernatorial candidate. Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to create 500,000 new apprenticeship positions in the decade after taking office, part of his broader strategy to boost the state’s employment programs.

It’s well on its way to achieving that goal, according to about 200,000 so far press release last month from the governor’s office.

But a few weeks later he quoted a new and much larger figure. “On the trajectory we’re on right now, that’s a real number, and if you want us to go back to that number, I’d be happy to give you that information later: 624,895 placements, 624,895 that we’re currently on track to to reach well over 500,000 by 2029,” he said.

What changed? Nothing, really.

The 200,000 figure represents the number of “registered apprentices” in the state. To register, the state has certain requirements: most importantly, employers must treat their apprentices as employees, provide them with training and pay them in full for that training. Most registered apprenticeship programs are union-run and require years of prior education or work experience. Firefighters, for example, represent largest curriculum of the state, although the program is highly selective.

Tara Gallegos, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the 624,895 estimate includes many other employment programs, none of which are actually apprenticeship programs as defined by the state. Along with an estimated 200,000 “registered apprenticeship programs,” the governor’s office counted people who participated in various internship and training programs from state labor and health agencies, such as a grant that taught farm workers how to increase recycling and composting . These farm workers received little or no direct compensation as a result of their training.

Many adults lack the work experience or education necessary to access an apprenticeship program, said Stuart Knox, secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. He defended the governor’s latest evaluations and said those programs, while not “registered apprenticeship programs,” offer similar benefits and have fewer barriers to entry. “For me, the important thing is not so much the goal, but the people we serve.”

Knox said the state was still on track to meet the campaign’s target of 500,000 registered apprenticeships.

Billions in public money for job training

After Newsom’s election in 2018. Brent Parton was part of a team of researchers at New America, a left-leaning think tank, that came up with a strategy to add 500,000 new apprentices by 2029. 2020 Report — and in national action planwhich he helped set up soon after – the definition was clear: only state-sanctioned or “registered” apprenticeships counted.

“Are there unregistered apprenticeship programs? of course how many are there “We don’t know because they’re not registered,” he said. “This aim is to expand the registered apprenticeship system.”

In a state-registered apprenticeship program, the apprentice is employed both during and after their training. A formal apprenticeship program also promises to provide participants with a standardized credential at the end of their training, similar to a college degree, that can be transferred to similar types of work. However, many of the programs Newsom cited offer only parts of this model, such as an internship that does not guarantee a job.

“The governor is doing the right thing by setting a vision for what he wants to achieve. “I think the state is going to have to make decisions about what universe of programs it’s going to include,” Parton said.

However, he noted that California did unprecedented investment in job training in recent years: a total of $5.7 billion, Newsom said at a recent news conference. Parton said California is one of the few states that provides public funding to apprenticeship programs to offset tuition costs.

“Regardless of what the goal is or where the governor says it is, I think what California has done puts it on a very strong path to achieving it.” Whether it’s 500,000 or 650,000 (internships), the conditions are really right.”

Trump and Newsom agree: more internships

Both Democrats and Republicans support expanding apprenticeship programs, but disagree on how the concept should be defined. A year before Newsom announced his 2018 goal, President Donald Trump issued executive order in which he called for more apprenticeship programs across the country as a way to “promote affordable education and rewarding jobs.”

Trump’s order gave employers more discretion to create their own apprenticeship programs, effectively wresting control from certain unions and government agencies. Biden rescind Trump’s order in 2021, while also releasing a statement saying it is also expanding apprenticeship programs.

Although some of the programs Newsom mentioned recently are not registered apprenticeship programs, Knox said they are included in the count because they offer a path to access those programs. He said the governor’s language did not reflect any change in policy.

One such program, run by the nonprofit Public Works Alliance, uses about $11 million in county and philanthropic funds to train about 600 young people to become emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The organization received an additional $21 million in the 2022-23 state budget to expand training across the state.

Unlike the apprenticeship program, students receive a stipend to attend classes, and since they are not employees, graduates must find work on their own. Alex Briscoe, the organization’s director, said the employment rate for graduates is about 90 percent, but wages for EMTs are low, between $18 and $24 an hour.

One of the most lucrative options for recent graduates is to become an apprentice firefighter, where starting pay is typically more than $40 an hour. Board-certified emergency physicians and paramedics have priority admission, but this program is so competitive that even qualified applicants often wait years for a spot.

“Many of these young people face barriers to employment,” Briscoe said. Some are current or former foster youth, while others have been through the juvenile justice system. The long-term plan, he said, is to partner with the fire department and create new apprenticeship programs, giving more young people a path to better jobs.

This article was originally published by CalMatters.