This report by the National Skills Coalition articulates the imperative for establishing a racially inclusive workforce through comprehensive training and advocates for the implementation of both state and federal workforce development policies to advance racial equity in educational attainment, employment, and income. The United States of America boasts a distinctive strength in its ethnic and racial diversity among residents. Nevertheless, disparities persist for Black, Latinx, Pacific Islander, Native, and specific Asian American workers in areas such as educational attainment, employment, and income. This report suggests policies such as investing in apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship to address decades of intentional, structurally racist policies.
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Resources and Tools
The Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Center of Excellence is focused on helping key stakeholders build and scale strategic partnerships to put more American workers on high-quality apprenticeship career pathways.
Registered apprenticeship is the proven gold standard in workforce development. Better aligning industry, workforce and education around apprenticeship can help build a stronger, more resilient, and future-ready American workforce.
Utilize the dropdown menu to find resources to better equip your area of expertise in apprenticeship.
Resources
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.
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.
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.
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.
Is your workforce board considering how to get started in adopting registered apprenticeship (RA) or supporting RA programs in your area? Have you taken a few first steps but wondering what a higher level of workforce/RA system alignment could look like? The Center has created a draft tool designed to help boards visualize "levels" of RA alignment and self-assess their current alignment status. This special interactive session shares the draft tool and walks through the proposed "levels" of alignment, including indicators and next steps.
This webinar provides technical assistance for leaders in state apprenticeship efforts to hear promising practices on expanding apprenticeship found in the Center’s recent review of 2020 state plans. Part Three focuses on two key indicators: the inclusion of apprenticeship-specific strategies to meet state objectives and the establishment of apprenticeship-specific metrics to meet workforce needs.
This webinar is Part Two of the Demonstrated State Apprenticeship Leadership in 2020 Unified/Combined Plans webinar series: Co-locating Registered Apprenticeship Expertise in American Job Centers (AJCs).
This Center of Excellence webinar will provide technical assistance for leaders in state apprenticeship efforts to hear promising practices on expanding apprenticeship found in the Center’s recent review of 2020 state plans.
Part Two focuses on the establishment of the apprenticeship expertise in the AJCs. States that make this investment recognize that having apprenticeship expertise available to both businesses and job seekers directly through their services make a stronger investment toward the inclusion of apprenticeship as a strategy that is relevant to their skill pipeline efforts.
This Center of Excellence webinar provides technical assistance for leaders in state apprenticeship efforts to hear promising practices on expanding apprenticeship found in the Center’s recent review of 2020 state plans.
During this three-part webinar series, you will hear about four leadership indicators. Part-One will focus on the establishment of a collaborative state level work group or a committee to the State Workforce Development Board (SWDB) with a focus on apprenticeship expansion. Establishing these groups or committees to the SWDB may indicate a deliberate effort to establish stronger statewide efforts to increase apprenticeship strategies and opportunities that are collaborative and integrated into business and job seeker services within the workforce system.
This guide is intended to be a starting point to help state and local workforce professionals understand the key players in the apprenticeship space, what role(s) those partners typically play in supporting registered apprenticeship programs, and how you can play a leadership role in creating registered apprenticeship partnerships that engage those entities.
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
The Center of Excellence shows promising practices for rural areas to sponsor registered apprenticeship. Participants hear steps to take in order to align the workforce system, education entities, and local employers in rural areas when considering related instruction, on-the-job learning, mentorship, employing apprentices, and return on investment when sponsoring a registered apprenticeship.
Subject matter experts from the Urban Institute speak about how rural workforce development boards at the state and local level can help a business start a registered apprenticeship and become a sponsor. Also, rural health care and agriculture grantees speak about their experience with program development, challenges faced and gathering stakeholders support for registered apprenticeship in their areas.
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.
This webinar provides technical assistance for workforce development boards regarding becoming a Registered Apprenticeship (RA) sponsor.
Safal Partners and FASTPORT subject matter experts speak about how workforce development boards can help a business start a registered apprenticeship and become a sponsor. Additionally, current sponsors from workforce development share their expertise in becoming a sponsor.
Hear how organizations made the decision to become an RA sponsor, best practices for engaging all stakeholders in the process, and hear about the pros and cons of becoming an RA sponsor.
The Center of Excellence provides insight and opportunities to strengthen your knowledge of registered apprenticeship. This webinar will accelerate the impact you’re making in your state and local boards to help employers and job seekers in your area through providing information about system alignment & partnership and co-enrollment & WIOA.
Speakers include: - Katie Adams, Chief Delivery Officer at Safal Partners - Melissa Aguilar-Southard, Director and Subject Matter Expert at Safal Partners