Today’s post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from blog.dol.gov

What do you know, and what are you assumptions, about apprenticeships? Is it possible that what a person learns in an apprenticeship can be transferred to another job or even another industry?

We have promoted blog posts about apprenticeships before like this one: Companies Must Understand: Labor is About More Than Just Jobs and this one: The Largest Apprenticeship Investment in U.S. History.

The best description of the results of holding an apprenticeship that I have seen lately is directly from this post:

“In a labor market that increasingly favors and rewards skilled workers, apprenticeships offer intensive skills training, a credential and middle-class wages.”

The U.S. Department of Labor is working to expand the idea of apprenticeships programs to two key groups:

“…expanding apprenticeships in new industries, and

increasing opportunities for underrepresented groups to participate in apprenticeship programs.”

Though there is some jargon in the blog post, I greatly enjoyed the word cloud that is the illustration. I also enjoyed the information that since 2014, “the Department of Labor has made unprecedented investments to support the development and expansion of new and existing apprenticeship programs, announcing or awarding $265 million in funding, thanks, in part, to a historic, bipartisan agreement made by Congress and based on the president’s 2016 budget.” Because making sure an effort is funded is a very important step in the process.

And making sure the two groups above know the “how” of the process is also important, as evidenced by this quote:

“… other high-growth industries – such as advanced manufacturing, energy, health care, homeland security, hospitality, and transportation – are less experienced with the apprenticeship model, and often lack the expertise needed to develop high-quality programs, and engage employers and other key stakeholders.”

This blog will continue to monitor federal, state and local efforts to provide training and apprenticeships to workers, celebrate those accomplishments, and point out the need for training improvements that benefit workers. Have a safe, productive week.

Apprenticeships, paid training programs that combine on-the-job training and classroom instruction, are an effective yet underused strategy for training workers for in-demand jobs. In 2014, in an effort to increase the use of apprenticeship as a pathway to middle-class employment, President Obama set a national goal to double the number of U.S. apprenticeships within five years. Since then, the Department of Labor has made unprecedented investments to support the development and expansion of new and existing apprenticeship programs, announcing or awarding $265 million in funding, thanks, in part, to a historic, bipartisan agreement made by Congress and based on the president’s 2016 budget. As part of that initiative, the Department of Labor is awarding 14 contracts to industry and workforce intermediaries to advance two major goals for expanding apprenticeship programs in the United States: expanding apprenticeships in new industries, and increasing opportunities for underrepresented groups to participate in apprenticeship programs. According to the department, the majority of apprenticeship programs are in the construction industry. In 2015, 47 percent of active apprentices were construction apprentices. After construction, the next most popular industries…

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