The US Department of Labor awarded Riverside Community College District nearly $5 million to support the region’s LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network to develop a Registered Apprenticeship Hub in the Inland Empire that will expand access to registered apprenticeship programs throughout the region. In all, the Department of Labor awarded $50 million to nine organizations, of which three were community college districts. RCCD’s award for LAUNCH is expected to fund 20 new apprenticeship programs as well as expand existing programs and assist in building pre-apprenticeship programs.

The goal of LAUNCH is to establish a navigable apprenticeship system for businesses, students and career-seekers to provide access to accredited paid work-based learning opportunities that would be recognized and portable both in industry and academia, and to fix bureaucratic bottlenecks within the workforce and education systems. Working in collaboration with LAUNCH and other educational partners, RCCD will also invest in critical apprenticeship management and personnel, work with employers and industries that use registered apprenticeships, serve populations that historically are underrepresented in the apprenticeship system, and work to integrate apprenticeship as a premier feature of the region’s higher education system. The project will also create pathways for adults, people of color, and women to participate in apprenticeships. In addition, RCCD’s Registered Apprenticeship Hub will expand intermediary program sponsorship services in new industry sectors, including emerging technologies and logistics, as well as the public sector and other non-traditional areas, and provide employers with the support they need to effectively offer apprenticeship opportunities.