Registered Apprenticeship (RA) is the gold standard for workforce development and well-aligned with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). RA provides employers in your state and local community with a proven strategy for developing a strong, sustained talent pipeline for skilled workers while providing job seekers with a pathway to high-demand careers that pay a family-supporting wage.
Access assistance from the Center to increase RA alignment with your state and local workforce development board planning to meet critical WIOA performance metrics by:.
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The Center of Excellence provided insight and opportunities to strengthen participants' knowledge of Registered Apprenticeship. This webinar accelerated the impact of state and local boards to help employers and job seekers by providing information about system alignment & partnership and co-enrollment & WIOA.
Speakers included Katie Adams, Chief Delivery Officer at Safal Partners, and Melissa Aguilar-Southard, Director and Subject Matter Expert at Safal Partners
During this Center of Excellence Office Hours webinar, we discuss National Workforce Registered Apprenticeship Baseline Knowledge Assessment Findings. Linda Angel, the Deputy Executive Director from Workforce Solutions of Central Texas, gives an overview for using Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding for supportive services with their local workforce. Finally, Judy Blanchard, Project Director and Subject Matter Expert at Safal Partners, provides an overview of On-the-Job Training as related to WIOA funding.
Katie Adams, Chief Delivery Officer, and Melissa Aguilar-Southard, Director and Subject Matter Expert, from Safal Partners presented on behalf of the Center at the National Association of Workforce Development national conference. This presentation strengthened participants' knowledge of Registered Apprenticeship by providing some insight, basic apprenticeship information, and actionable next steps to move forward. Katie and Melissa pointed out four major knowledge gaps from a recent Workforce System Registered Apprenticeship Baseline Knowledge Assessment Report including funding support through co-enrollment and sharing knowledge about Registered Apprenticeship.
The Center presented two sessions on building effective RA partnerships and closing RA knowledge gaps to more effectively create workforce/industry partnerships that provide RA opportunities for well-paying careers for all Californians at CWA's WORKCON 2023. The conference highlighted innovative and strategic collaborations, partnerships, programs, ideas, and principals across the state's Workforce Development Boards, Community Based Organizations, Educational entities, WIOA partners, and all those invested in the success of their local communities and the people who live in them. WORKCON is CWA’s Spring workforce practitioners conference, however, anyone interested in helping people obtain sustainable employment benefit from this conference.
The Center presented the session, What Does Workforce Really Know About Apprenticeship? This session provided insight and opportunities to strengthen workforce practitioner knowledge of Registered Apprenticeship and discussed the Center baseline report and knowledge gaps in the workforce about Registered Apprenticeship.
WORKCON 2023 highlighted innovative and strategic collaborations, partnerships, programs, ideas, and principals which showcased the incredible work of CA’s Workforce Development Boards, Community Based Organizations, Educational entities, WIOA partners, and all those invested in the success of their local communities and the people who live in them.
The Center presented an interactive session, Developing a Regional Team to Scale Apprenticeship, discussing the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship in California and included tips on making apprenticeship work, background information on Registered Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship, and information around the roles of partners in Registered Apprenticeship.
The U.S. Department of Labor Center of Excellence on Strategic Partnerships and System Alignment has published the first-of-its-kind, "Workforce System Registered Apprenticeship Baseline Knowledge Report.” The assessment identifies specific registered apprenticeship-related knowledge gaps in the workforce system which will be used to inform the design of field-relevant assistance for the purpose of increased utilization of apprenticeship by the workforce system in serving employers and job seekers nationwide.
Katie Adams, Senior Director at Safal Partners, discusses youth apprenticeship for the California Workforce Association. During this webinar, an overview of registered apprenticeship, partnerships, and opportunities for policy guidance is presented.
The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) has worked hard to modernize and expand the legacy apprenticeship framework in the state, and to create non-traditional Registered Apprenticeship programs. The Apprenticeship Partnership Team was formed to address the challenges, solutions, and sustainability of RA programs in Missouri. Join us to take a look at the advantages and steps to starting your own Apprenticeship Partnership Team.
As part of its focused work to support system alignment and strategic partnership expansion in Missouri, the Center of Excellence sat down with Dr. Mardy Leathers, Director of the Office of Work-Based Learning in the Division of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) to discuss the state's strategic development of a certified pre-apprenticeship framework to accelerate registered apprenticeship expansion. The framework utilizes WIOA funding and builds on the state's in-demand sectors and occupations and can serve as an example for other states.
The Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development hosted its annual Apprenticeship Missouri Summit to promote and encourage Registered Apprenticeships. The Center presented, Assessing and Building Strategic Apprenticeship Partnerships, providing attendees with partnership strategies, understanding what partners provide in support of RA programs and how to connect with each of these partners.
Center partner, NAWDP, held their Youth Symposium offering a free, 2-hour pre-conference Bootcamp, focused on Registered Apprenticeship (RA). The bootcamp provided a foundational knowledge of developing and implementing RA programs. Attendees built on this knowledge throughout the conference by attending workshops in the apprenticeship track, which highlighted promising practices and showcased organizations that have successfully implemented apprenticeship programs. The bootcamp was free to in-person symposium attendees.
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 RA programs, and how you can play a leadership role in creating RA partnerships that engage those entities.
This questionnaire is intended to help you build a network in your area around Registered Apprenticeship (RA). With the information gathered here, your board should be better able to engage with and convene RA stakeholders to expand RA program opportunities. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the U.S. DOL RA TA Center of Excellence “Workforce Board Guide to Identifying Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Partners” publication.
At the National Association of State Workforce Agencies conference, the Center presented on our strategic partnership and system alignment work and workforce alignment research findings including co-enrollment rates by state and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state plans’ incorporation of Registered Apprenticeship.
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.