Flintridge Graduation Highlights the Impact of CPA’s Investments in Workforce Training

Workforce Development

California’s clean energy transition requires more than innovative technology; it will require a skilled, diverse workforce ready to lead the way. Trained workers are needed to design, manufacture, install and maintain clean energy infrastructure.

That’s why Clean Power Alliance continues to invest in workforce training programs that create pathways to sustainable careers while ensuring the benefits of the clean energy economy reaches communities that have historically faced barriers to opportunity.

CPA recently celebrated a major milestone with the Flintridge Center: the graduation of the fourth Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) pre-apprenticeship cohort CPA has sponsored and the 53rd cohort overall.

Including this graduating class, CPA funding has now supported 122 students at Flintridge Center since the partnership began in February 2025.

“I am so excited for you, and I am excited about your future. You have so many people here who are cheering you on and supporting you,” said Kathryn Barger, County of Los Angeles 5th District Supervisor, who attended the graduation. “You have heard of the investments that we’re making with Clean Power Alliance and the Flintridge Center, but that’s just one of many investments that we’re making locally. With the 2028 Olympics coming to Los Angeles County, there will be opportunities across the board for good-paying union jobs. So, you all are able to not just invest in your future but invest in the future of your city and your family as well.”

The Flintridge Center prepares individuals who have been impacted by the justice system, including formerly incarcerated and gang-impacted community members, for careers in the union construction trades through the nationally recognized Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3). The program equips graduates with the skills, certifications and support needed to enter union apprenticeship programs and pursue careers building California’s clean energy infrastructure.

Program graduate Christopher Terraza believes that the skills he has learned through the apprenticeship have now put him on a path to being able to support his family and provide them with a better life.

“After this, I’ll be able to not only have a job but actually have a career and provide for my family and make sure that my son can have a better life than I did,” Terraza said. “Coming from the background I grew up in, I believe in giving back to the community and really being part of something that’s bigger than me. I would tell anybody that is considering a program like this to do it, don’t give up. Don’t let your past be your future. There’s always room for growth and just because we didn’t grow up with the best examples doesn’t mean that we can’t do better. This graduation is proof of that.”

CPA has provided $2.7 million in funding for workforce development programs since 2019, helping connect people from underserved communities with high-paying union careers in construction and the clean energy sector. CPA funding provides support services and stipends for students, including transportation, childcare, housing assistance, tools, licensing fees and training stipends, so participants can focus on completing their programs and successfully entering the workforce.

“I chose to do the Flintridge apprenticeship because I felt I was lacking direction in my life and it really helped me get into the construction trade,” said recent graduate Terence Harris. “I feel like this opportunity is almost like graduating from college. It’s giving me a level of expertise that’s going to help me put my family in a better position. I chose this trade because you are able to build and see what you built and see the impact. I want to make a difference and do something that helps to make this world better, helps to clean the air, helps to clean the community and to really be accountable for the future of my area.”

The Flintridge Center is one of three organizations participating in CPA’s MC3 workforce development initiative, alongside Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles (WINTER) and the Workforce Development Board of Ventura County. Together, with the three workforce partners, CPA has supported 209 MC3 pre-apprentices as of July 2026, with CPA on track to prepare 600 pre-apprentices over the next two years.

By investing in people today, CPA is helping ensure California has the skilled workforce needed to build and maintain the clean energy systems of tomorrow. At the same time, these programs are creating meaningful economic opportunities for individuals and families while strengthening the communities CPA serves.

“There are critical and needed projects that will benefit our communities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties that have not yet been built,” CPA CEO Ted Bardacke said to the students at the event. “The goal for this graduating class is to get you all out in the field, safe, trained, earning a good wage, building that clean energy infrastructure of the future and helping to make a positive difference.”

To learn more about CPA’s workforce development initiatives at cleanpoweralliance.org/workforce.


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