Local listing agent Martin Feinberg was pleased to hear that West Los Angeles College in Culver City, along with the South Bay Workforce Investment Board (SBWIB) in Hawthorne, have received a $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.  The grant is part of a national endeavor under the Growing Advanced Manufacturing Apprentices Across America program.

The grant, the only one awarded to a California applicant, is meant to prepare and place almost 1,500 workers into apprenticeship roles in the advanced manufacturing sector with a focus on the Aerospace and Bioscience industries. The national program aims to place around 5,000 workers into apprenticeship roles.

According to SBWIB Executive Director Jan Vogel, “This very significant grant award reflects the effectiveness of the apprenticeship programs we have collectively created here in the greater South Bay area.  Our Aero-Flex and Bio- Flex pre-apprentice and apprenticeship models are now being looked at and implemented nationally.”

Included in SBWIB’s local collaborative partners are El Camino College, College of the Canyons, Los Angeles Workforce Development Board, Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, Project Lead the Way, Training Funding Partners, Goodwill of Southern California and the Aero-Flex Unilateral Apprenticeship Committee.

Companies and participants interested in this opportunity were asked to contact Deborah Shepard in the Culver City Real Estate area at 310-970-7700 for more information on how to participate.

The South Bay Workforce Investment Board runs four One Stop Business & Career Centers in the South Bay area, plus two Teen Centers in Inglewood and Hawthorne. All employment services provided by SBWIB are offered at no cost to the public.