Marin green-transit training program gets funding boost
August 27, 2025
PUBLISHED: August 26, 2025 at 4:59 PM PDT
By Cheryl Sarfaty
Canal Alliance, the San Rafael nonprofit that supports Marin County’s underserved Latino community, has announced $317,512 in funding for a new green-transit training program.
The organization, through its ongoing partnership with the College of Marin, will work with Marin Transit and Workforce Alliance of the North Bay to develop an apprenticeship program for students interested in becoming technicians or drivers for diesel and electric buses, according to Canal Alliance.
The funding comes from the California Department of Industrial Relations California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship grant program, Canal Alliance announced on Aug. 20.
“At Canal Alliance, we are devoted to creating opportunity, and to creating access to living-wage jobs that offer opportunity for advancement,” said Air Gallegos, Canal Alliance’s director of economic mobility. “This new partnership will achieve both.”
Canal Alliance said it will lead student recruiting, training, job placement and job support for the new apprenticeship program.
“As our partnership with Canal Alliance continues to deepen, so does our ability to deliver on our promise to be the community’s college,” said Jonathan Eldridge, College of Marin’s superintendent and president. “We are excited to support the development and success of this program, and of the students who choose to enroll.”
The apprenticeship funding follows a $31.5 million federal grant to support Marin Transit as it begins work on an electric bus operations and maintenance facility in the Canal neighborhood.
Canal Alliance, College of Marin and Marin Transit will work together to develop the apprenticeship program.
“This partnership has come together at such an important moment for our agency,” said Nancy Whelan, Marin Transit’s general manager. “With our commitment to green jobs, and to playing a positive role in the community in which we are located, this collaboration with Canal Alliance and College of Marin makes excellent sense for us.”
Bruce Wilson, executive director of Workforce Alliance of the North Bay, said the green transit initiative “demonstrates the power of collaboration to build Registered Apprenticeship Programs that create real career pathways.”
The partnership between Canal Alliance and College of Marin began in October 2018 to offer entry-level career training for high-demand jobs for the underserved Latino community in Marin County.
To date, Canal Alliance and College of Marin have developed and provided workforce training programming in the region, training 425 participants for careers in construction, transportation, health care and banking, according to the announcement. It said the most established program is construction, which has a retention and program certification rate of 81%, and shows an average one-year wage increase of over 49% after job placement.
