An audit of the LADWP's training programs found that it spends $40 million a year on apprenticeship programs, but low graduation rates have made a staffing shortage and driven up overtime expenses.
Data shows that over the last 5 years, only about 51% of those enrolled in 3 of apprenticeship programs actually graduated.
The audit also found that the DWP doesn't require graduates to work for them, and that some with the highest training are recruited to work elsewhere.
The DWP spends about $440,000 to $665,000 per graduate to train electrical workers, but the low graduation rate meant that only 300 trainees were hired between 2010 and 2015.
City Controller Ron Galperin said:
“The LADWP spends hundreds of thousands of dollars of ratepayer money on each graduate of its apprenticeship programs, yet far too many people who enroll in those programs never graduate, and others take the skills we’ve taught them to private utilities."
To make up for the gap in new hires from the failed apprenticeship program, LADWP has had to use current workers to fill shifts, causing a rise in overtime payments.
When will the DWP get its act together? It's run by such buffoons!