"We always say we're higher education. You hear it all the time. This proves it," said Tim Myres, Local 104 and Bay Area Industry Training Fund administrator. "Now, we can say when you graduate our program you can have an associate degree as a journeyperson."

The program, which launched last summer, currently serves apprentices at five locations across Northern California, including Fairfield, Livermore, San Jose, and Castroville. Testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB) apprentices will become eligible this summer, with building trades service apprentices following within the year.

Breaking Down Barriers

The partnership addresses a long-standing divide in post-secondary education. "We've had two education systems running side by side for too long," said Chris Allen, dean of apprenticeship at Foothill College. "It's innovative work to shift the narrative that you have to choose between the building trades and college."

Under the new program, apprentices receive credit for five out of seven general education requirements through their on-the-job training. They complete the remaining three courses — English, humanities, and ethnic studies — during their free time, either at the training facility or online.

This streamlined approach marks a significant improvement from previous arrangements. Despite apprentices receiving college credit for their training in the past, only about five students per year over the last six years took the additional steps to complete their associate degrees.

A Collaborative Effort

The initiative, which began in 2019, required extensive collaboration between Local 104's training coordinators and Foothill College's academic faculty to translate apprenticeship curriculum into academic terms.

"We have a core group of faculty who did most of the work, but we couldn't have done it without the training coordinators," Allen explained. "They know the curriculum upside down and inside out. Their expertise, and how they structured their apprenticeship program, made it easier for faculty to identify the general education requirements in their curriculum."

Future Aspirations

While the program is currently voluntary, Myres has bigger plans.

"Right now, the program is voluntary for apprentices. My goal is it will not be voluntary," he said. "It will be part of the requirement to become a journeyperson to have this degree."

The partnership's benefits extend beyond immediate education.

"That's the benefit of developing a true partnership," Myres noted. "They see the level of our training and what we do meets the mission of a community's college. Members of the community can earn an education, work in the community and raise their families on a living wage and prosper in the community."

Allen concluded that this program demonstrates that career choices don't have to be either/or decisions: "I'm not trying to tell you to choose between the apprenticeship and the college — I work for a college. You don't have to step off one to do the other. You can do both, and we're proving it."