Stronger Jobs, Stronger Communities — EDD and Cal-JAC
Published: June 5, 2025
With the challenges we face in California with wildfires and other natural disasters, people depend on first responders to be there in a time of crisis. Unfortunately, there simply aren’t enough emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or paramedics to go around.
The California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee (Cal-JAC) hopes to change that with a $4 million grant from the Employment Development Department (EDD).
“What we’re doing is getting individuals who may not have thought of a career in the fire service — you may not have been exposed to it — and really talking to them about this opportunity,” says Cal-JAC Executive Director Yvonne de La Peña.
Roughly 200 fire departments from across the state take part in the program.
“We have 12,000 active apprentices statewide,” says de la Peña. “Those are active firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and engineers — various occupations within the fire service.”
The grant, which is part of the Workforce for a Healthy California, assists Cal-JAC in developing and expanding apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs to recruit, train, and employ firefighters and paramedics.
“We know that there are so many people who are interested in the fire service that have not had an opportunity,” said Jeanette Plascencia, Recruitment Director for Cal-JAC’s Firefighting Candidate Testing Center.
“It’s such an incredible thing that people can experience — to be able to see somebody have that transformation of starting at point ‘A’ and really being at point ‘Z’ at the end of this journey,” adds Plascencia.
“I’ve really been impressed with EDD in terms of the support they provided. They meet with us every month. They ask us what they can do to support us,” said de la Peña. “They are there every step of the way.”
Funding for the grant was provided through general funds made available by Governor Gavin Newsom and administered by the EDD and the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency.
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