November 8-14 is National Apprenticeship Week
In a year filled with challenges, National Apprenticeship Week offers an opportunity to focus on solutions. As the economy begins to recover from the effects of the pandemic, apprenticeships offer a viable answer to the skills gap and the need to reskill and retrain individuals whose jobs were adversely impacted by COVID-19.
Believe it or not, there will be some new opportunities that arise out of this unprecedented economic upheaval. Companies that invest in skills now are going to be at the forefront of driving economic recovery post-pandemic.
Five or 10 years ago, apprenticeships were pretty much thought of as being for the building and construction industries. Companies are increasingly looking at different ways they can bring people into their organization. As our nation gets back to work, apprenticeships can help workers earn an income while learning new skills that will help them succeed in the recovering economy.
National Apprenticeship Week – November 8 – 14, 2020 – is a nationwide celebration that gives businesses, communities, and educators the opportunity to highlight their apprenticeship programs and apprentices, and demonstrates the value apprenticeship programs offer businesses, career seekers, and the community. This weeklong initiative focuses on themes and industries in which apprenticeships are making a significant difference for American workers, including technology, healthcare, financial services, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and more. This celebratory week highlights the ways in which apprenticeships can help Americans succeed in our nation’s major industries.
In September, the US Department of Labor (USDOL) announced the launch of a campaign called “Discover Apprenticeship” to raise awareness of the benefits of registered apprenticeships and increase participation by business leaders and job seekers nationwide. USDOL has an online apprenticeship job finder that offers access to more than 20,000 open apprenticeships and more than 3,500 organizations in the U.S. in a variety of industries, including advanced manufacturing, healthcare and information technology. You can find more information about this resource at www.apprenticeship.gov.
Apprenticeships benefit both workers and employers. From their first day of work, apprentices receive a paycheck that is guaranteed to increase as their training progresses. Apprentices complete a combination of job-related instruction and hands-on training at the job site leading to a nationally recognized, portable credential. Employers benefit by receiving customized training that meets industry standards, tailored to the specific needs of businesses, resulting in highly skilled employees. Apprenticeships also help employers with enhanced employee retention, a safer workforce that may reduce worker compensation costs, and a stable and reliable pipeline of qualified workers.
Michigan Works! assists job seekers and employers with apprenticeships. Michigan Works! staff connect job seekers with pre-apprenticeship programs for youth and adults and they connect employers with Apprenticeship Success Coordinators to assist them with developing apprenticeship programs, registering apprenticeship programs with US Department of Labor, and provide application screening and qualified applicant referrals.
You can find more information about the Michigan Works! network and the services offered at www.michiganworks.org.
Luann Dunsford, CEO, Michigan Works! Association