RIVERSIDE, CA (February 28, 2025) – Inland Economic Growth & Opportunity (IEGO), the Inland Empire Labor Institute (IELI), and the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF), as fiscal agent, congratulate Governor Gavin Newsom and his team for their continued commitment to economic development through the newly released California Jobs First (CJF) Economic Blueprint.

This initiative brings historic investments to Riverside and San Bernardino counties, fueling industry growth, expanding career pathways, and strengthening the region’s position as a hub for innovation and economic resilience.

As part of the Governor’s statewide collaborative economic blueprint, the Thrive Inland Southern California CJF Regional Plan outlines strategies to invest in high-growth sectors, workforce development, and infrastructure that will drive inclusive economic expansion across the region. For example, $3 million will be committed as part of a predevelopment fund.

With over 4.6 million residents and a rapidly growing labor force, the Inland Empire is well positioned to be a leading region in California’s evolving economy. CJF is set to support these efforts by targeting investments in:

• Industry Growth & Innovation: Expand high growth sectors of greatest potential including advanced manufacturing, clean technology, and cybersecurity sectors to create thousands of high-wage jobs.
• Workforce Development: Enhance training programs and career pathways through partnerships with community colleges, labor organizations, and regional employers.
• Infrastructure & Business Support: Improve access to capital and technical assistance for small and mid-sized businesses to foster local economic resilience.

“CJF is a game-changer for Inland Southern California,” said Matthew Mena, a co-convener of the CJF initiative and executive director of IEGO. “IEGO, IELI, and IECF are working together to ensure that Riverside and San Bernardino counties—home to a diverse and rapidly growing workforce—benefit from these critical investments. We look forward to building on this momentum to create lasting opportunities for our communities.”

“The California Jobs First Regional Economic Initiative has provided us with a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between affordability and unattainability for our communities by funding community-led research, planning, and coalition-building, and now through direct pre-development project investments. It is our goal to ensure that our working families have access to mortgage-and-family sustaining wages within a diverse economic local market to provide various accessible quality-jobs, while promoting union-based and worker-centered ventures,” said Esmeralda Vazquez, Executive Director of the Inland Empire Labor Institute.

As CJF co-conveners, IEGO and IELI are uniting labor unions, businesses, workforce leaders, and educational institutions to ensure CJF investments align with local economic needs. With IECF serving as the fiscal agent, the initiative is leveraging regional partnerships and public-private collaboration to maximize economic impact.

CJF’s regional strategy aligns with Inland Southern California’s need to diversify its job base, expand career pipelines, and attract new industries to drive sustainable, long-term economic prosperity. By fostering collaboration across sectors, CJF drives inclusive economic growth and ensures that local workers have access to high-quality, good-paying jobs.

As CJF continues to take shape, IEGO, IELI, and IECF remain committed to advocating for resources, infrastructure, and policy solutions that maximize the impact of state and federal investments in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

About The California Jobs First Economic Blueprint: This statewide plan guides the state’s investments in key sectors to drive sustainable economic growth, innovation, and access to good-paying jobs over the next decade. Made up of ten strategic industry sectors, this framework will help streamline the state’s economic, business, and workforce development programs to create more jobs, faster.

About Thrive Inland Southern California: California Jobs First fostered formation of the Thrive Inland SoCal collaborative. Thrive is envisioned as the start of a new era of inclusive regional economic development rooted in deep collaboration among businesses, economic development intermediaries, community members, workforce and education, the public sector, and other stakeholders. Taken together, these strategies chart a course for regional action in the years ahead.

About IELI: The Inland Empire Labor Institute (IELI) is the 501(c)(3) wing of the Inland Empire Labor Council, a regional AFL-CIO affiliate with 290,000 members across Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The IELI partners with economic, social, and environmental organizations to prioritize the needs of workers.

About IECF: The Inland Empire Community Foundation is the oldest and largest community foundation serving the Inland region. IECF has deep roots in the region and is committed to working with all who care passionately about improving the Inland Empire community.

Building and Construction Trades, Firefighting, and Personal Services Lead Inland Empire Industries Creating Apprenticeship Paths to Good-Paying Jobs

According to the Inland Empire/Desert Center of Excellence for Labor Market Information (COE), the Inland Empire, comprised of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, has 13,626 active apprentices as of September 2024, adding that the Inland Empire is training a higher share of apprentices than their share of workers in California. While the Inland Empire labor force accounts for 11.2% of all California workers, the region’s 13,262 active apprentices represent 14.2% of all apprentices in California.

The benefits to workers and businesses is immense. Registered apprenticeships are industry-driven career pathway programs that allow individuals to earn wages while learning skills for a specific occupation or trade and allow employers to develop and invest in their future workforce. Most Inland Empire apprenticeships are in building and construction trades (69%), firefighting (15%), or personal services (e.g., barber or cosmetology) (10%). The remaining 7%, or 922 apprentices, were registered in non-traditional programs, 473 were in advanced manufacturing programs. 449 were in other programs, led by health services (128), automotive repair (120), information technology (71), and food and food service (56) programs. While the number of apprentices is smaller in these non-traditional programs, they are the fastest growing.

“Creating pathways to high quality jobs is critical to keeping the Inland Empire economically competitive. It has made a major impact in workforce readiness by providing effective ways for young people to gain the skills they need for lucrative employment,” said Matthew Mena, Executive Director, Inland Economic Growth & Opportunity (IEGO).

Mena adds that a significant reason the Inland Empire has built an effective apprenticeship pipeline is that its community colleges work in partnership with intermediaries such as the LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network (LAUNCH), an intermediary and education provider for businesses adopting the apprenticeship model. The LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network leverages the workforce and education systems of the region’s community colleges, K-12 districts, and Workforce Development Boards.

“While the Inland Empire is a statewide leader in apprenticeships, there is still work to be done to create greater access for underrepresented residents,” adds Mena. According to the report, only 6% of apprentices in the Inland Empire are women, a smaller share than the 9% of female apprentices in California. The gender gap in the Inland Empire is driven by low rates of women in building and construction apprenticeship programs (2% female) and the CA firefighters’ program (3% female).

Citing the proven track record for the apprenticeship model, California Governor Gavin Newsom set an ambitious goal in 2018 of reaching 500,000 active apprentices by 2029. As a result, the state has significantly increased registered apprenticeship completions and enrollments. However, the current rate of apprenticeship expansion is insufficient to meet the statewide goal of 500,000 apprentices trained between 2018 and 2029.

“The Inland Empire can play a greater role in meeting these goals and supporting our residents’ future economic opportunities by working with intermediaries such as LAUNCH, improving access for underrepresented groups, and expanding the range of occupations with strong growth potential that use the apprenticeship model including education, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and clean technology,” added Mena.

To read the full report, go to Apprenticeship in the Inland Empire - Centers of Excellence for Labor Market Research.

About Inland Empire / Desert Region Center of Excellence for Labor Market Information: The Centers of Excellence for Labor Market Research are part of California’s Workforce and Economic Development Division. As grant-funded technical assistance providers, the nine Centers are located strategically across the state to study California’s regional economies. The work supports the community colleges by providing customized data on high growth, emerging, and economically critical industries and occupations. The Centers produce reports and tools that provide a real-time picture of the labor market, where it is headed, and what programs and training are needed to meet future workforce demand. This research helps community colleges tailor their programs to support the state’s dynamic and competitive workforce.