Item 09 - Biennial Modification to the PY 2021-24 Regional and Local Workforce Plan

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Orange County WDBs 2023 Biennial Modification to PY 2021-24 Unified Local Plan 7 is the series of activities occurring during national Apprenticeship Week. Annually, the County, in partnership with the local WDBs, the Orange County Labor Federation, AFL- CIO, the Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers host OC National Apprenticeship Week events. During Apprenticeship Week, the partners host a series of presentations by and discussions with registered apprenticeship champions to showcase their successes and demonstrate how registered apprenticeship programs help build up the country’s workforce to address pressing issues that include: responding to climate change, modernizing cybersecurity responses, addressing public health concerns, and rebuilding the country’s infrastructure. The workforce and labor partners also highlight how registered apprenticeships provide a viable career path for everyone, including women, people of color, and persons with disabilities. Additionally, these events provide apprentices a platform to share their experience s and how participation in apprenticeships have transformed their lives. Provide Job-Specific Skills Training through Registered Apprenticeships and Structured Pre-Apprenticeship Training Programs: Labor organizations, particularly local unions representing the construction trades, have an expansive history of using apprenticeships to provide work-based learning that results in workers developing certified, industry - recognized skills. A wide range of apprenticeships are available to job seekers in Orange County, including much sought after opportunities, such as apprenticeships offered by the IBEW. Throughout Orange County, local WDBs can also connect WIOA participants and other workforce system customers to various multi-craft core curricula (MC3) construction pre-apprenticeship training programs, which are operated under the oversight of the Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council. Partnerships with Business-Serving Agencies and Programs Equal in importance to job seekers as customers are businesses. T herefore, the workforce development boards of Orange County frequently collaborate with local organizations that focus on providing services to businesses of all types and sizes, including companies representing the key industries that are identified as priority target sectors within the Orange County Regional Planning Unit’s PY 21 -24 Regional Plan and its 2023 Biennial Update. Given their close relationships and ongoing interactions with local businesses, chambers of commerce are uniquely positioned to support local enterprises. Chambers make introductions to businesses leaders, inform the workforce system of new and expanding companies, and frequently serve as liaisons between local businesses and the WDBs. While the system partners work with dozens of chambers of commerce, local boards have developed particularly effective relationships with the chambers in Irvine, Santa Ana, and Anaheim. To assist businesses customers, the local WDBs also work with the Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center Network, which offers business consulting, training, and online courses at no cost to entrepreneurs and business owners throughout EXHIBIT 2