Bridging the Classroom to Careers through Apprenticeship

Registered apprenticeship (RA) provides your students with a proven pathway to high-demand careers across every sector. Related instruction delivered in-person, online or in a hybrid method is a key required component to all RA programs. These courses - which can be delivered in high school, through Career and Technical Education center programs, or community, technical colleges or universities - help students gain critically-needed knowledge to become competent professionals in their chosen pathway and earn one or more industry-valued credentials. Secondary and post-secondary educational institutions can participate in apprenticeship by:

  • Becoming an RA sponsor, enabling local businesses to recruit your students for paid apprenticeship opportunities and/or enroll their incumbent workers and new hires into your courses for related instruction
  • Serving as a training provider, delivering industry-aligned related instruction for local existing RA programs
  • Being an intermediary, connecting students to local RA programs with recruiting, screening and testing services and even creating high-quality pre-apprenticeship programs to provide accelerated entry into a local RA program

Engage with the Center by:

Resources

12 Dec 2024

The Center presented this interactive workshop during ACTE’s CareerTech VISION 2024 to help employers of all sizes and all sectors expand their workforce recruiting and development strategies by adopting Registered Apprenticeship. Career and technical education (CTE) programs are expertly positioned to accelerate student’s successful entry into these programs through development of strategic partnerships and industry-aligned pre-apprenticeship programs. The Center also showcased how we can provide your state and local CTE leadership, and individual program instructors, with customized, no-cost TA, resources, and tools to engage in pre-apprenticeship. 

Link to PPT

11 Dec 2024

Safal Partners Chief Delivery Officer, Katie Adams, joined federal and state government officials during the Urban Institute’s Vision 2030: Building the Future of Registered Apprenticeship to discuss the need and vision for continued expansion and modernization of Registered Apprenticeship to create a stronger, more skilled American workforce.

This presentation discussed the Centers' work and opportunities for increasing America's public workforce system utilization of Registered Apprenticeship to serve both jobseekers and employers, as well as post-secondary and adult education engagement.  It featured Carrie Amman, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association, and James Disbro, Senior Director of Regional Alignment & Programs Development at CareerSource Suncoast.

Link to PPT

10 Dec 2024

The Center of Excellence lead this interactive workshop during the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association’s Apprenticeship PA Collaborative and Expo. This presentation helps educators, industry employers, and workforce staff learn how to develop, implement, and sustain youth Registered Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs.

Link to PPT

09 Oct 2024

Maryland's employers are struggling to fill jobs, while parents face the rising costs of college. The state has also set an ambitious goal: by the 2030-2031 school year, 45% of graduating seniors should complete an apprenticeship or earn an industry-recognized credential. Achieving these objectives will require a significant expansion of youth apprenticeships across the state.

This workshop provides insights into how education can seamlessly transition into apprenticeship. It presents data and statistics highlighting the impact and success rates of Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs and explores the many benefits of combining traditional education with RA, such as enhanced skills acquisition, job readiness, and long-term career success. Industry experts share examples of successful education-to-apprenticeship pathways. This presentation equips you with the strategies and knowledge to bridge the gap between education and apprenticeship, ultimately benefiting both students and the workforce.

Link to PPT

 

26 Aug 2024

This Center of Excellence webinar is designed to empower educators, practitioners, and stakeholders with the knowledge and tools needed to seamlessly connect education with Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs. Attendees will gain insights into how education can effectively transition into apprenticeship, hear comprehensive data and statistics that highlight the impact and success rates of RA programs, and learn about the myriad of benefits of combining traditional education with RA, including enhanced skills acquisition, job readiness, and long-term career success. Industry experts will also provide examples of successfully implementing education-to-apprenticeship pathways. This informative and engaging session will equip you with the strategies and knowledge to bridge the gap between education and apprenticeship, ultimately benefiting students and the workforce.

Link to Webinar

Link to PPT

Link to Office Hours Webinar

Link to Office Hours PPT

05 Aug 2024

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants to 14 organizations to develop or expand registered youth apprenticeships. Grant funds can be spent on activities to support apprentices ages 16 to 24 years participating in Registered Apprenticeship programs in high-demand industries, including manufacturing, health care, information technology, and cybersecurity.

This research report by the Urban Institute provides background on youth apprenticeship programs in the U.S. to provide context for finalizing the design of the implementation evaluation of the Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants. The report also summarizes the planned activities of the 14 grantees and the key features of each grantee’s youth apprenticeship model and discusses key issues to include in the implementation evaluation.

Link to Report

29 Jul 2024

This flowchart shows the relationship between recruitment and retention services for pre-apprenticeship to apprenticeship with your local workforce board. Once a participant transitions from pre-apprenticeship to apprenticeship, available resources for apprentices consist of On-the-Job Training, Supportive Services, and Related Technical Instruction.

Link to Chart

Link to PDF

02 Jul 2024

As part of the Center of Excellence’s work on System Alignment and Strategic Partnerships in Registered Apprenticeship, the Center chose five initial states in 2021 to do focused work with leaders across workforce, industry, education, and labor. California was one of the five states. Center lead, Safal Partners, engaged the California Workforce Association (CWA) as a lead partner on the Center grant.

Together, Safal Partners, CWA and leadership from the state apprenticeship agency (Division of Apprenticeship Standards – DAS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) Office of Apprenticeship (OA) formed a Leadership Team of representative organizations to guide the Center’s work in the state. The team is comprised of 26 members representing industry, workforce, education, government, and labor; it has representation from both the state and local level within each sector.

This Center of Excellence California Regional Sessions Report-Out documents the 2022 regional sessions utilizing methods such as asset mapping and guided questions focused on opportunities and actions. Overviews of meeting outputs are recorded from the Sacramento, Clovis, Long Beach regions.

Link to Report

17 May 2024

Center partner, the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), held their Annual Conference in Nashville, TN in 2024. Center subject matter experts, Katie Adams, Nicole Klues, and Dr, Amber Gallup, presented about expanding pre-apprenticeship opportunities for adult learners through employer engagement to grow their registered apprenticeship program. This interactive session explored tools and strategies for fostering strong partnerships between adult education programs and employers to enhance pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship opportunities for students.

Link to PPT

21 Feb 2024

Properly implemented supportive services can ensure higher retention rates for apprentices in skilled, nontraditional occupations. However, most Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs don’t have a framework for working with state or federal grant programs or their local workforce development board (LWDB) to access Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and non-WIOA funded supportive services for their youth or adult apprentices. Learn how one CTE Center works with its LWDB and braids state and federal apprenticeship grant funding to provide critically-needed supportive services to apprentices.

As a Registered Apprenticeship program sponsor, the Special School District of St. Louis County’s Adult CTE Department has implemented a promising programmatic model and support service delivery practice for its multi-occupation adult apprenticeship programs, including Certified Nurse Assistant, Certified Medication Technician and Level One Medication Aide, as well as its “Healthcare S.T.A.R.S.” Pre-Apprenticeship program. These practices range from mentoring, case management, and linkages with community services partners to providing financial assistance with childcare, transportation, housing, and utility costs.

This presentation was given during the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) CareerTech Vision 2023 workshop.

Link to PPT

19 Dec 2023

WorkforceGPS has compiled resources for quality pre-apprenticeship programs that lead to Registered Apprenticeship. Pre-apprenticeships not only build the basic literacy, math, and work-readiness skills today’s employers require, but also provide pre-screened, qualified, and job-ready apprentice pools. Join WorkforceGPS to access these key resources.

Link to Resource

19 Dec 2023

Building and maintaining a highly skilled and diverse construction workforce is imperative. To help foster this understanding, the Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative (WSI) investigated how pre-apprenticeship programs are used to train low-income and disadvantaged adults for careers in construction. The following research interviewed 25 leaders of promising and innovative pre-apprenticeship programs across the country to explore factors that impact how programs are designed and to identify policies that constrain and support their efforts. Above all, they found that pre-apprenticeship programs play a significant role in developing a skilled and diverse construction workforce.

Link to PDF

12 Dec 2023

This document by The Aspen Institute provides findings on how construction pre-apprenticeships programs connect low-income adults to construction careers and help construction employers find the diverse, skilled workforce needed to be successful. The report also outlines working within the construction industry, the value pre-apprenticeship programs provide, as well as policy recommendations for workforce development leaders.

Link to PDF

12 Dec 2023

The National Skills Coalition gives an overview of work-based learning and discusses how childcare and pre-apprenticeship have a role in expanding and completing apprenticeship programs. The brief also gives recommendations for federal and state policy to make these two offerings available nationwide.

Link to PDF

12 Sep 2023

This Center of Excellence Office Hours provides technical assistance for workforce development boards and education entities regarding becoming a Registered Apprenticeship sponsor. Hear how education providers and workforce development boards can help a business start a registered apprenticeship by becoming a sponsor. Additionally, current sponsors in the education and workforce fields share their expertise in becoming a sponsor.

Link to Webinar