California: Governor Newsom announces funding for construction workforce training program to help support Los Angeles recovery efforts
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Jan 14, 2026

Governor Newsom announces funding for construction workforce training program to help support Los Angeles recovery efforts

What you need to know: A workforce development program funded through Governor Newsom's LA Rises initiative,the Walter Family Foundation and state workforce recovery funding will help train construction workers and speed up rebuilding and recovery in Los Angeles.

SACRAMENTO – A workforce development program funded through Governor Newsom's LA Rises initiative, the Walter Family Foundation and state workforce recovery funding will help train construction workers and speed up rebuilding and recovery in Los Angeles.

Wildfires have changed the scale of what this region needs, not just in homes, but in people with the skills to rebuild them. Through LA Rises, California is meeting this moment with urgency. We're investing in the workforce that recovery depends on so rebuilding strengthens communities and creates real pathways into good-paying careers.

Governor Gavin Newsom

"This lab is workforce infrastructure for a region in recovery," said California Secretary of Labor Stewart Knox. "Rebuilding Los Angeles will take years and thousands of skilled workers. Our role is to ensure workers are ready to meet what this moment demands, so recovery restores both homes and livelihoods."

Over the past year, LA Rises has helped connect local communities with trusted resources and rallied investments to support small business and worker recovery, armed local governments with an AI-powered tool to supercharge their review and approval of building permits, and catalyzed rebuilding efforts through trusted partners.

More recently, LA Rises, in collaboration with community input, launched a new online resource to further help LA fire survivors navigate rebuilding.

Bolstering LA's construction workforce

Over the past three years, nearly 2,400 students have enrolled in PCC's building trades and technical education programs, including building construction, rough carpentry, welding, electrical and electronics technology, design technology, and machine shop. The new Construction Trades Lab will modernize training environments and allow the college to serve even more students preparing for careers in the skilled trades.

As part of today's groundbreaking, Secretary Knox and the PCC community participated in a hands-on build event with San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers constructed walls and panels that will be used in the reconstruction of a home lost in the Eaton fire.

The Construction Trades Lab is supported, in part, by a mix of public investment and a $2.8 million philanthropic contribution from the Walter Family Foundation mobilized through LA Rises, reflecting the scale of coordination required to meet the region's rebuilding needs.

In addition to today's LA Rises contributions, the Construction Trades Lab at Pasadena City College was selected by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office to receive $500,000 in state funding designated for community college initiatives to support workforce development and regional rebuilding programs in response to the Palisades and Eaton Fires.

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Beyond construction training, PCC is also advancing workforce development through a manufacturing training initiative funded by the Employment Training Panel (ETP), a department within the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

Through this ETP-funded program, PCC received approximately $408,000 to train 218 workers in California's manufacturing sector. The program delivers customized, employer-driven training across Southern California, helping close skills gaps in production, leadership, supply chain management, and advanced manufacturing, strengthening local businesses while giving workers clear pathways to stable, high-quality jobs.

Supporting the business community across the Los Angeles region

Over the past year, Governor Newsom has supported the business community across the LA region, ensuring that the state is helping to restore the community pillars that make these neighborhoods whole.
  • Helping businesses and workers get back on their feet: The Governor issued an executive order to support small businesses and workers, by providing relief to help businesses recover quickly by deferring annual licensing fees and waiving other requirements that may impose barriers to recovery. Additionally, the state extended the January 31, 2025, sales and use tax filing deadline for Los Angeles County taxpayers until April 30 — providing critical tax relief for businesses.
  • Strengthening the road to recovery: In February 2025, the Governor was in Los Angeles to launch the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint as part of his continued tour of the state's thirteen economic regions. The Blueprint was paired with $125 million in funding to support new, ready-to-go projects and $15 million for economic development projects for California Native American tribes. In addition, the Governor received the Los Angeles Jobs First Collaborative's regional plan and announced $3 million to support their recovery efforts for the region, including for the launch of public-facing campaigns to promote small business support and the addition of capacity for near-term business and economic recovery.
  • On-the-ground advisors for small businesses: 200+ business advisors from Small Business Support Centers funded through the California Office of the Small Business Advocate's (CalOSBA) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) were staffed across the region, including business advisors from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Women's Business Center (WBC), to answer questions about key aspects of economic recovery, including the loan application process, insurance inquiries, employee and workforce support, and business planning related individual recovery plans.
  • Providing resources for recovery: CalOSBA has launched a Resource Guide for small businesses impacted by the wildfires through its Outsmart Disaster website, and conducted a series of online trainings in both English and Spanish.

Trump abandons LA fire survivors

The state continues to directly aid local recovery and work with local philanthropic groups to support the Los Angeles Community. This stands in direct contrast to President Trump, who is failing to approve long-term disaster funding for survivors of last year's catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires.

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The Governor, who recently went to Washington, D.C., in early December to advocate for survivors, renewed his call for immediate approval of the disaster supplemental, urging Congress and the President to deliver the same compassion and urgency that have been extended to other communities across the nation. This is the fourth request for funding since February, when President Trump promised he would "take care" of survivors.

The federal government plays a critical role as a partner to the state in this long-term recovery effort. Funding in this supplemental appropriation would:
  • Fund the rebuilding of schools, childcare centers, homes, and vital community facilities. This helps thousands of working families, veterans who lost homes, and nearly thousands of students displaced from their schools.
  • Keep small businesses open, support the economy, and maintain jobs. LA's small businesses and family-owned enterprises are the backbone of our local and national economy. Disaster loans and grants will keep them open, preserve thousands of jobs, and spur wider economic recovery — benefiting Americans who may never set foot in Los Angeles but rely on its goods, services, and culture.
  • Restore damaged water systems, rebuild responder infrastructure, and improve air quality monitoring. This protects not only LA's population but the tens of millions who travel, conduct business, and interact with the region each year.

For more information visit ca.gov/lafires

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