The State of California Empowers State Employees Through Registered Apprenticeship in Public Service Careers

The state of California is committed to workforce development centered on registered apprenticeship. Through partnership with SEIU Local 1000 as an Apprenticeship Innovation Funding (AIF) Round 2 Awardee, the state is using registered apprenticeships to meet its growing workforce needs while providing state employees with pathways for advancement in their careers with the state. SEIU Local 1000 represents nearly 100,000 State of California workers across 1400 work sites. As it pertains to registered apprenticeship, SEIU currently has nine programs which train 13 distinct occupations across 5 industry sectors. One of its programs, the Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program is offered jointly by SEIU Local 1000, California Department of Human Resources (CalHR), and American River College (ARC). This program is designed to provide state employees, who meet specific criteria, with cybersecurity education, skills, and experience to advance in their careers with the state.

One inspiring example of this program’s impact is the story of Katherine C. In July 2021, Katherine was looking for promotional opportunities as she had already reached the maximum salary for her classification (Associate Management Auditor). She saw the announcement for the 2-year Cybersecurity Apprenticeship program offered, applied, and was accepted into the program. Over the course of the program, Katherine received 32 hours of on-the-job training per week at the Enterprise Security Department Monday through Thursday where she learned how to review incident tickets, presented security awareness education, and performed annual reviews for risk assessment. On Fridays, Katherine received 8 hours of study time to take her online classes at American River College. Katherine successfully completed the apprenticeship program, graduated from American River College with an Associate’s degree in Cybersecurity, took and passed the ITS-1 exam, and was placed on the eligibility list.  Katherine now works for the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) for the Policy and Assessment Unit, Enterprise Security Services Office, Information Technology Division as a Policy and Standards Analyst. Way to go Katherine!

For more information about the Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program, visit Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program - SEIU Local 1000.

November 2024