REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award of Contract to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to Implement a California Energy Commission Initiative Supporting Transit Apprenticeship Development
Report
BACKGROUND
NOVA Workforce Development (NOVA) has received a series of Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology (ARFVT) grants under the auspices of the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB). This grant program provides Assembly Bill (AB)118 discretionary funds to promote job training initiatives that support the State of California's alternative fuel and clean energy goals.
In 2016, NOVA responded to a CWDB request to develop an initiative to research and support an ongoing transit apprenticeship program created by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 (ATU), Mission College, and the California Labor Federation. As a result, the CWDB awarded NOVA a $250,000 grant to research and support the apprenticeship program. The goal of this Transit Apprenticeships for Professional Career Advancement (TAPCA) initiative is to develop transit workforce infrastructure through a unique system of four stackable apprenticeships.
The TAPCA apprenticeships are Coach Operator Apprentice, Track Worker Apprentice, Overhead Line Worker Apprentice, and Service Mechanic Apprentice. These apprenticeships have clear linkages from entry-level employment to higher-level potential supervisor positions in VTA's transportation (bus), maintenance (way/power/signal) and maintenance (bus) divisions.
NOVA's roles in this grant are to develop working relationships with the above-named apprenticeship stakeholders, research TAPCA activities, discern its own value as a workforce development board in enhancing transit apprenticeships, and seek opportunities to replicate the VTA-ATU apprenticeship program at the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) and perhaps in other locations.
Pursuant to federal law (29 ...
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