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Hey Reader,

This week, I came across something that forced me to finally write a newsletter after a month break. Let's get into it.

California Department of Industrial Relations announced over $30 million in Apprenticeship Innovation Funding (AIF) for 2024-2025.

While glancing at the public list of recipients, one stood out. It was a barber apprenticeship program. And get this.

They received $418,088 in state funds.

On paper, that sounds like progress. More investment equals more opportunity for aspiring barbers right?

Well, here’s an interesting twist: this apprenticeship academy has an average licensure pass rate of around 30% over the last year.

Thirty. Percent. So...if 10 of their apprentices took the exam, only 3 would pass.

How does a program with outcomes like that qualify for nearly half a million in taxpayer dollars?

Don't worry, California's Board of Barbering and Cosmetology is on it too. Check out this quote from their last board meeting on October 13th.

The Board has been raising concerns around the apprenticeship programs for years and yet their voice continues to fall on deaf ears as this funding rolls in.

How the Funding Works

The Apprenticeship Innovation Funding (AIF) program was designed to support “new and innovative” apprenticeships outside the construction trades aka barbering and cosmetology.

But here’s the key detail:

• Funding is formula-based, not performance-based.
• Programs get $3,500 per active apprentice, plus a $1,000 completion bonus. So a maximum of $4,500 per apprentice.
• Funding can cover marketing, recruitment, salaries, software, or admin costs.
• Exam pass rates don’t factor in.
• Essentially, the system rewards enrollment, not results.

As long as a program reports active apprentices, submits expense reports, and stays in “good standing” with the state, they can qualify for funding. So they get funding even if a student never completes their hours or accomplishes the big goal: becoming a licensed barber.

What Does This Mean?

Let’s be clear: this doesn’t mean anyone’s stealing money. By state standards, these programs are compliant. But there’s a big difference between compliance and impact.

So a program can check every box on paper while still producing weak outcomes just like a barber can check every box of a haircut and still produce a weak service. This isn't corruption, it's a systemic design flaw.

For our community, I think this matters. Apprenticeships should be a legitimate pathway to licensure, not a revolving door of students who never finish. When the state rewards quantity over quality, we lose the very craftsmanship we’re supposed to protect and more important apprenticeships' dreams that never become reality.

Questions Worth Asking

Instead of pointing fingers, maybe we should ask better questions:

• Should apprenticeship funding be tied to licensure pass rates?
• How can the state measure quality without adding red tape?
• What role can educators play in helping apprentices complete their hours and pass their exam ?

Because if hundreds of thousands of public dollars can move through a program without a single mention of exam success, maybe the real innovation California needs isn’t in creating more apprenticeships — it’s in measuring what matters.

P.S. For the record. I'm low key shocked that I only saw 1 apprenticeship program get the money, really thought every eligible program would be on that joint lol

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Quick question before you go. I've been writing these newsletters in email form and I'm thinking of switching it up and also posting reels with a voice over to Instagram. It'd be the same content just in a different format with visuals and audio.

Reader, you think that's a good idea or nah? Reply and let me know what you think. Appreciate you for taking the time to read this one all the way through, you're a real one.

See you in the next one,

doza.

✂️ If you found this insightful, share this newsletter with another barber who wants to stay up to date with the latest taking place in our community.

Written by: Matthew Mendoza​​
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