This week, I testified before the Select Committee on Effective Postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE) and Workforce Development Programs and why it matters for young people furthest from opportunity. For the last several years, Alliance for Boys and Men of Color has been helping lead the fight to build... real, paid pathways into good careers for opportunity youth. Alongside Youth Will and California Opportunity Youth Network, we worked with Senator María Elena Durazo to establish the California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) Grant Program — because too many young people were locked out of the apprenticeship system, even as California faces major workforce shortages. COYA is about more than training. It’s about building relationships between community-based organizations, labor, education, and employers so young people who’ve been disconnected from school or work can earn while they learn and move into high-paying, stable careers. Over the last two years, California has made a historic investment in opportunity youth through the California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) that we established. Across two rounds, COYA has awarded more than $46 million to 80 programs to build and expand registered pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship pathways. These investments are supporting thousands of young people who face barriers to employment—connecting them to paid, high-quality career pathways in high-demand industries through partnerships with community-based organizations, labor, education, and employers. Proud of the role ABMoC continues to play in shaping youth apprenticeship policy in California — and committed to keeping the focus on real pathways, real wages, and real opportunity. Thank you Assemblymember Mike Fong for the invite and we’re looking forward to collaborating this year on AB 805.show more

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