On August 6, Grow Apprenticeship California hosted a statewide learning lab, “Scaling Apprenticeship Through Regional Partnership,” in Emeryville, California. The event brought together regional partners from across the state to explore how collaboration and shared strategies can expand apprenticeship pathways for more California workers.

Attendees included community colleges, workforce boards, intermediaries, K–12 partners, employers, labor organizations, and apprenticeship practitioners from across California. Grow Apprenticeship California shared lessons learned from the three-year Grow Apprenticeship California 3.0 initiative while equipping apprenticeship stakeholders with practical tools, strategies, and frameworks to strengthen regional apprenticeship ecosystems.

The Learning Lab elevated promising regional models, formalized and shared actionable resources from the Grow Apprenticeship California Regional Playbook, and fostered peer learning across systems and sectors. Through presentations, facilitated dialogue, hands-on activities, and collaborative planning exercises, participants explored best practices for building, scaling, and sustaining inclusive Registered Apprenticeship Programs within their own regions.  

The Learning Lab provided the opportunity to:

• Examine how regional approaches can strengthen apprenticeship development, align workforce and education systems, and support sustainable program scale. 
• Explore lessons learned, challenges encountered, and strategies used by stakeholders in the CVML and LARC regions to design and expand regional apprenticeship efforts. 
• Interact with playbook resources, planning tools, and stakeholder engagement materials that support apprenticeship outreach, partnership development, and program implementation. 
• Use data tools, action-planning frameworks, and collaborative exercises to identify regional opportunities for apprenticeship growth and alignment.
• Build connections with apprenticeship practitioners across education, workforce, industry, and intermediary systems to support ongoing peer learning and collaboration beyond the convening.

Grow Apprenticeship California is an initiative of FoundationCCC with funding support from the James Irvine Foundation that helps to expand and scale apprenticeships in new and innovative sectors, connecting all Californians to good jobs with family-sustaining wages and advancement opportunities.

Learn more about Grow Apprenticeship California >