WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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ince the pandemic hit , IT professionals have been nearly as important as teachers in keeping online classes going at schools . But in San Joaquin County , retaining IT personnel in school districts is a huge challenge — once they learn their jobs , they often move to Silicon Valley for better money , says Pam Knapp , director of college and career readiness at the San Joaquin County Office of Education .
About two years ago , she was meeting with the county ’ s workforce development board to figure out how to launch new apprenticeships in the wake of a state push to ramp up apprentice numbers . One idea they hit on : Why not get high school students to help districts with tech challenges through an IT apprenticeship ? The districts could get the help they needed , and the teenagers could get something as valuable as a college degree in computer science : paid , on-the-job training in an in-demand field . Because today ’ s youth grow up as digital natives , the idea would seem to make sense —
one British study found that 6- and 7-year-olds are better at digital technology than adults between the ages of 45 and 49 .
Knapp and a coalition of partners applied for a grant to start an apprenticeship program for the county ’ s high school students ages 16 and up . Six students started three-year IT support specialist apprenticeships last November . It ’ s the first registered apprenticeship program for high schoolers in the state . Now the project wants to sign up 19 more apprentices by the end of 2022 and expand the job categories into other areas : auto mechanics , home health aides and logistics technicians .
Experts on the Capital Region ’ s economy see solving the workeremployer talent challenge as one component of the region ’ s long-term success . The proportion of jobs in the region that require high-level digital skills quadrupled from 2002 to 2016 , according to a 2018 report from the Brookings Institution . ( Brookings defines the region as Sacramento County and five counties to the north and west .) Data from the state ’ s community college system shows that in greater Sacramento — defined as a seven-county region that includes Sacramento County and six counties
34 comstocksmag . com | August 2021