Expanding Apprenticeships Can Fuel Equitable Economic Recovery

In the past five months, we have faced a pandemic, record unemployment, and nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd that have laid acutely bare ongoing systemic racism. Yet again, low-income Asian, Black, and Latinx communities have been disproportionately hurt in this compounded crisis.  Much uncertainty remains about how soon the economy will fully reopen and what jobs will remain when it does. What is certain is that we need to start now to ensure that workers hit hardest by the shutdown have a clear path back to the workforce.

As an upcoming report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute highlights, investing to scale up apprenticeship programs can be a gamechanger in getting displaced workers into new good-paying jobs, addressing structural racial inequities that have blindly hampered career advancement and restarting our economy. In an OpEd published this week in the San Jose Mercury News and East Bay Times, Bay Area Council Policy Associate Leslie Alfaro highlights the important role apprenticeships can play in fueling an equitable economic recovery.Read how expanding apprenticeships can fuel equitable economic recovery>>