Workforce Development

The Port of Los Angeles views workforce development as a priority––a skilled and productive workforce is critical to maintaining the Port’s position as an economic engine for the region, assuring its overall competitiveness in the international trade arena. The Port aims to continually increase its workforce development role in the goods movement sector across Southern California.

Workforce Development Goals and Initiatives

The Port of Los Angeles seeks to use its role as an economic engine to drive the goods movement sector to serve as a path for economic mobility. To accomplish this goal, the goods movement sector needs to create more goods jobs through more career path opportunities.

By working with unions, employers, academic institutions, and community based organizations, the Port aims to create initiatives that support workers and position employers for success in the ever-changing goods movement industry.

The Port also recognizes these initiatives are coming at a time when the sector is transitioning to zero-emission technologies and seeks a worker-centered transition specifically for this sector.

High Road Training Partnership

Opening of the ILWU-PMA M&R Training Center

In 2017, the State of California awarded the Port of Los Angeles one of the State’s first Hight Road Training Partnership (HRT) grants. The grant was for the development of a first of its kind training partnership with POLA, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).

This partnership has created an innovative pilot training program and simulator for teaching the skills needed to lash shipping containers. The program has remained after the completion of the grant program and is often a forum for collaboration on workforce development between the Port, ILWU and PMA.

Municipal Career Opportunities

The Port of Los Angeles is highlighting municipal job opportunities within the City of Los Angeles. In addition to the City of Los Angeles’ Targeted Local Hire initiative, the Port also conducts community outreach about municipal job opportunities including providing tours of Port Construction and Maintenance facilities to students and participants with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Harbor Occupational Center and Los Angeles Job Corps Center.

LAUSD tour of Construction & Maintenance Yard at the Port of Los Angeles

Apprenticeships

The Port of Los Angeles is working with companies and organized labor partners that operate in the San Pedro Bay port complex to highlight various apprenticeship programs, which range from construction apprenticeships to apprenticeships for U.S.-flagged vessel crews. Apprenticeships have a proven track record of leading to well-paying career opportunities.

Partnerships with Local Academic Institutions

The Port of Los Angeles has partnered with community colleges and LAUSD to bring curriculum and instructors to support the workforce at the Port.

The Port also partnered with the Transportation Worker Institute (TWI) at Los Angeles Trade Tech College (LATTC) to bring mechanics training to workers at SA Recycling.

Also, the Port brought together the LAUSD, PMA and ILWU to develop an upskilling mechanics curriculum and program for longshore mechanics.

In 2024, the Port announced agreements with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to coordinate with the largest public education system in the country as well with UCLA to coordinate academic and career opportunities for the globally recognized university.

Longshore workers at the Port of Los Angeles

Port of Los Angeles Goods Movement Training Facility

Pacific Maritime Association Training Facility

A 20-acre training facility located at the Port of Los Angeles is being developed in coordination with the ILWU, the PMA, and the California Workforce Development Board. This first-in-the-nation facility will provide training in longshore, trucking, and warehousing occupations.

The facility has two goals: First, it will replicate the various work environments in maritime and goods movement to provide a safe training environment for workers. Second, the state-of-the-art facility will serve as a public resource where workers across the region can learn how to operate, maintain and repair zero-emission cargo-handling equipment and Class 8 trucks.

This facility is central to ensuring the industry’s transition to zero-emission is a worker-focused initiative that does not leave incumbent workers and potential new workers behind.

Project Labor Agreement

The Port of Los Angeles currently has a 10-year Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with LA-OC Building Trades Council. The PLA has robust requirements as to apprenticeship and target communities requirements. During the term of the current PLA, the Port has completed 21 projects that took 1,085,329 project labor hours-- completed by 5,536 workers, of which 1,702 were local workers.

Looking ahead, the Port’s PLA will apply to the more than $2 billion in upcoming projects. To support the successful implementation of the PLA, the Port uses various public platforms to promote MC3/pre-apprenticeship program at Harbor Occupational Center to ensure community members are aware of the nearby training program, notifying them of trade work opportunities related to Port construction projects.

Welder at APM Terminals at the Port of Los Angeles

POLA TEACH (Teaching Energy Advancements in Cargo-Handling)

Zero-emission cargo-handling equipment at the Port of Los Angeles

The Port of Los Angeles has often served as a lab for testing new technologies for zero-emission (ZE) cargo-handling equipment (CHE), and Port staff has worked with local academic institutions at all levels to increase awareness of the Port environment and newly deployed ZE CHE.

The Port's U.S. EPA Clean Ports Grant includes funding for the establishment of the Port of Los Angeles' Teaching Energy Advancements in Cargo-Handling (POLA TEACH), a new Port program that builds on the Port's existing relationships with academic institutions in secondary and higher eduction to develop curriculum on operations, maintenance, and repair of ZE trucks and CHE.

POLA TEACH will expand on existing efforts between school districts to expand existing diesel mechanic courses to include ZE repair courses. Working directly with California Community College leadership, POLA TEACH will strengthen connections with regional community colleges by involving them in various technology advancement projects at the Port.

Often, transportation is a barrier to entry for many potential workers. By partnering with the California Community College system, POLA TEACH would connect the Port with additional community colleges, ensuring training for the operation and maintenance of ZE technology is widely available statewide.

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