This is your monthly AAI grantee community update with upcoming events and new resources.
Upcoming NGA Events:
- AAI Learning Network Call: November 9, 3-4 P.M. EST: https://zoom.us/j/94532209241
Apprenticeship Resources:
- National Apprenticeship Week is November 8-14, 2020. This is a nationwide celebration that brings together business leaders, career seekers, labor, educational institutions, and other critical partners to demonstrate their support for apprenticeship, as well as provide an opportunity to showcase apprenticeship programs and apprentices.
- Apprenticeship Expansion Resiliency Planning Resources (Workforce GPS): States can use the resources to support continued apprenticeship growth and diversification strategies in challenging times.
- Kentucky FAME: Fulfilling the Promise of Apprenticeship (Opportunity America and Brookings): This report, published by Opportunity America and Brookings, looks at the Federation for Advance Manufacturing Education (FAME) model for apprenticeship, quantifying the benefits of apprenticeship for students and exploring what makes this apprenticeship model successful.
- Policy Matters: Reflections on the Past and Future of Apprenticeship: November 13, 1:00 PM EST. Urban Institute, in collaboration with New America and Jobs for the Future, are hosting a panel discussion of apprenticeship policy to review promising practices at the national, state, and local levels, and make policy recommendations for 2021 and beyond. Register here.
- S. Department of Labor (DOL) COVID Guidance: COVID guidance for apprenticeship grants and contracts, including for the AAI cohort, is now published on DOL’s COVID webpage. Topics include:
- How can grantees encourage their Registered Apprenticeship program to keep apprentices employed during the COVID-19 crisis?
- For AAI grantees, what are the expectations for employer outreach and activities, which normally require meeting with people?
- Can AAI grantees modify the budget and activities to build new capacity that is more resilient to emergencies like COVID-19?
Apprenticeship in the News
- It Pays to Be An Apprentice: 63% More (NPR): An apprenticeship program that matches employers with community colleges has launched graduates into middle class careers and could be a way to address the flagging fortunes of Americans lacking four-year degrees.
- Tech Apprenticeship Program Wins $7.5M Federal Contract to Continue Expansion (com): The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded Apprenti, Washington state’s first registered tech apprenticeship program, a $7.5 million, five-year contract to continue its nationwide expansion.
- IT Apprenticeship Academy Opens in Northeast Arkansas (net): In consultation with Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Blue Ribbon Commission, Newport Economic Development Commission (NEDC) partnered with Arkansas Center for Data Sciences and Arkansas State University-Newport to create the Newport Tech Depot for IT Apprenticeship Academy.
- Wolf Administration Announces New Funding for Apprenticeship Advancements and Outreach in Harrisburg (pa.gov): Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the approval of new funding for the Iron Workers Local 404 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) through the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Apprenticeship Grant Program. This funding will support the governor’s commitment to expanding job training-related opportunities throughout Pennsylvania.
- Wolf Administration: New Machining and Robotics Apprenticeship Opportunities Available in Allegheny County (pa.gov): Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the approval of new funding for three apprenticeship programs at New Century Careers in Allegheny County through the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Apprenticeship Grant Program.
- Report: Registered Apprenticeship Program a Boon to Businesses, Job Seekers (Missoula Current): A new report on Montana’s registered apprenticeship program shows that the program has sent more than 3,300 workers into good paying jobs over the past 20 years.
- New Survey Shows that Apprenticeships are Impactful and Growing in North Carolina (NC Commerce): One of the main findings of the North Carolina Community College System’s recent North Carolina Registered Apprenticeship Survey Report found that investments in apprenticeships produce a strong financial return to companies.
- The Culinary School of Fort Worth Starts Culinary Apprenticeship Program (Fort Worth Business): The Culinary School of Fort Worth has been approved by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation to operate an apprenticeship program designed to provide working culinarians an opportunity to achieve nationally recognized certifications by combining paid on-the-job learning with theory-based classroom instruction.
- Drake State and Mazda Toyota Start Apprenticeship Program (com): Drake State Community and Technical College announced a partnership with Mazda Toyota to start its first apprenticeship program, where students will go to school and work on the plant floor at Mazda Toyota.
- Community College of Denver Launches Nation’s First Vet Tech Apprenticeship Program (com): The first in the nation, students in the apprenticeship program will work more than 2,000 hours in a local veterinary clinic in addition to taking classes at the Community College of Denver.
- Halter Marine Partners with Community College to Launch Apprenticeship Program (com): Shipbuilder Halter Marine, in a partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC), has launched a new apprenticeship program.
- Cape Fear Community College Starts Plumbing and Pipefitting Apprenticeship Program (Ground Break Carolinas): To address a serious shortage of plumbers, Cape Fear Community College has received $327,000 from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund to start a Plumbing and Pipefitting Apprenticeship Program.
