The Investing in America Agenda represents a historic commitment to workforce development with hundreds of billions of dollars earmarked for our nation's infrastructure, semiconductor industry, and renewable energy sector over the coming years. This substantial investment will necessitate the training of millions of new workers in innovative industries to fill these roles.

This presentation, given at the Southeastern Employment and Training Association 2024 Conference, shows the core elements of the Investing in America Agenda, what opportunities exist related to how states can utilize funding opportunities to support registered apprenticeship and how organizations can collaborate to support the implementation of the Agenda while also supporting Opportunity Youth.

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The Center created a draft tool designed primarily to provide local workforce boards with a gauge of potential “levels” of workforce and apprenticeship system alignment. This session is a continuation of walking through the individual levels, with a focus on how local boards have taken next steps to further incorporate registered apprenticeship as a workforce solution for local jobseekers and employers.

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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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This Center of Excellence webinar, Gauging Registered Apprenticeship Alignment for Workforce Boards, focuses on how Workforce Boards can take steps to align and level up their Registered Apprenticeship activities. The Center created a draft tool designed primarily to provide local workforce boards with a gauge of potential “levels” of workforce and apprenticeship system alignment. This special session walks through the individual levels with a focus on how local boards have taken next steps to further incorporate registered apprenticeship as a workforce solution for local jobseekers and employers.

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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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