2024 ApprenticeshipPA brought together industry, education, workforce, and stakeholders across Pennsylvania that wanted to strengthen apprenticeship employment and work-based models of training and development.

Center subject matter experts presented the workshop, Building Student Awareness of Apprenticeship Career Pathways. This workshop provided insights into how education can seamlessly transition into apprenticeship. Data and statistics were shown highlighting the impact and success rates of Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs, exploring the many benefits of combining traditional education with RA, such as enhanced skills acquisition, job readiness, and long-term career success. 

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) provided an opportunity for the public workforce system to come together to ensure that we build an economy that works for all. The ETA Vision 2030 convening was an opportunity to highlight and uplift existing programs, build partnerships and break down silos, catalyze success by scaling up together, and create strategic plans to meet the needs of the future. 

The Center presented, Effectively Leveraging Partnerships; Tools to Expand Registered Apprenticeship (RA), providing a step-by-step model on how to effectively leverage partnerships and tools to expand RA through system alignment, outreach and education, and system building.

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The Mt. San Jacinto College Apprenticeship Connection Summit was a groundbreaking summit bringing together key stakeholders from across the region including businesses, municipal leaders, community organizations, workforce agencies, college students, and faculty to help cultivate and expand apprenticeship programs that will develop a future talent pipeline. Participants collaborated to bridge the gap between education and in-demand careers by providing hands-on training and job opportunities for students and graduates. 

The Center presented, Keys to Effective Apprenticeship Partnerships, introducing the Center as a provider of assistance and showed the knowledge gaps in the workforce system regarding Registered Apprenticeship. This presentation brought together key stakeholders from across the region representing industry, local government, community organizations, workforce boards, and secondary and post-secondary educational institutions.

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2023 ApprenticeshipPA brought together industry, education, workforce, and stakeholders across Pennsylvania that wanted to strengthen apprenticeship employment and work-based models of training and development.

The Center presented, U.S. DOL Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Center of Excellence Strategic Partnerships and Systems Alignment. This presentation provided an overview of knowledge gaps based on the results of the Registered Apprenticeship baseline knowledge report, as well as discussing system alignment tools, and how to leverage the services provided by the Center of Excellence.

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This webinar provided technical assistance for workforce development boards and education entities regarding becoming a Registered Apprenticeship sponsor. This was the second part of the sponsorship series following the July webinar, Technical Tips for Becoming a Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor, and featured additional speakers who were eager to answer questions on being a workforce development board or education registered apprenticeship sponsor.

Participants learned how education providers and workforce development boards can help a business start a registered apprenticeship by becoming the sponsor. Current sponsors in the education and workforce fields shared their expertise in becoming a sponsor. Participants also received a guide and questionnaire for convening partners and a checklist to help gather the right information while engaging with an apprenticeship training representative.

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Mapping IET to Pre-Apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship Programs This presentation at COABE's Annual Conference in May 2023 provides Adult Education (AE) leaders and instructors with background on Apprenticeship, findings from the Center's nationwide assessment of adult educators' knowledge of apprenticeship, and tools to help map Integrated Education and Training (IET) programming to pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs, helping create accelerated pathways for adult learners into high-quality career pathways.

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Use this resource to align your Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs with pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship (RA). This resource is aligned to the IET design toolkit, and whether you are developing an IET program with pre-apprenticeship or RA in mind or want to align your current IET programs, this resource will help to support a direct pathway into a pre-apprenticeship and RA.

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Center partner, the California Workforce Assocation, held their 2023 Youth Symposium, sponsored by Safal Partners, bringing together Youth Workforce Service Providers, Youth Job Coaches, Community Based Organizations, Educational Entities, Adult Schools, and Youth Workforce Allies to discuss, network, and ponder what it takes to help youth thrive in programs and beyond. 

The Center presented, Assessing and Building Strategic Youth Apprenticeship Partnerships, providing attendees with partnership strategies, understanding what partners provide in support of Registered Apprenticeship programs and how to connect with each of these partners.

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This webinar provided a technical look at how one Office of Education developed pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships to help resolve the talent pipeline challenge they faced. Participants heard from Pam Knapp, San Joaquin County Office of Education as she explained why they started this journey and what she advises for those just starting out with Youth Apprenticeships.

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ACTE’s premier annual conference attracted thousands of secondary and postsecondary career and technical educators, business leaders and industry professionals from around the world. Attendees enjoyed featured keynote speakers and leaders on their main stage, hundreds of concurrent educational sessions and networking events in a variety of formats, and a massive Career and Technical Expo. The Center of Excellence discussed how to braid grants and workforce funding for apprenticeship supportive services. 

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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.

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