to the north and west — demand for a number of middle-skill jobs will grow substantially by 2024 . Openings for solar panel system installers , for example , will rise by 82 percent and for radiologists by 9 percent — jobs that pay between $ 23 and $ 58 an hour . And most in those roles don ’ t have four-year college degrees .
Many experts see apprenticeships as the best way to match people looking for jobs with those that are in demand . A U . S . Department of Commerce study in 2016 assessed the rate of return on 13 apprenticeships in a variety of occupations . A program that trained medical assistants in a New England hospital system had a 40 percent return on every dollar invested . Another for machinists run by Siemens USA earned 50 percent .
The 13 sponsoring companies or organizations were unanimous in their support of apprenticeships and cited increased productivity , reduced turnover and better soft skills among those they trained . Almost no one reported losing apprentices to poaching by competitors . “ Apprenticeship is one way ,” says Michael Prebil , a policy analyst at the Washington , D . C . -based Center on Education & Labor at New America and co-author of a report on California ’ s apprenticeship push . “ It
is not the only way . We do think it is probably the best way .”
But in recent history , apprentices have been used almost entirely in construction and firefighting in the United States . In his run for governor , Gavin Newsom set a goal of 500,000 apprentices in the state by 2029 , five times the number now . To get there , the state is trying to convince companies to adapt the existing apprenticeship playbook to land talent for hardto-fill jobs in areas like IT , health care and manufacturing .
BRIDGING THE TALENT GAP
At San Joaquin County ’ s Ripon School Unified School District , IT Supervisor Edward Ellis is working with two apprentices , both students from the district . After three weeks of training every day after school , they started helping out : setting up computers , unpacking inventory , managing and repairing Chromebooks , providing on-site IT help to teachers .
This summer , they ’ re working 20 hours a week , and in the fall , they ’ ll enroll at San Joaquin Delta College for IT courses , taking six courses total by the end of the three years . They ’ ll end up with a state-issued certificate of training — and no college debt .
August 2021 | comstocksmag . com 35