MEATA's 2018 Spring Apprenticeship Conference takes place on May 22-25 at the Holiday Inn Resort West Bay Beach in Traverse City!

This year's theme is Apprenticeship 2020: Focus on the Future and a highlight of the conference will be the very first Apprenticeship in a Day WORKShop through which MEATA will take a select group of companies and organizations through the entire apprenticeship registration process in just a single day! This workshop is for EVERYONE, not just the companies...all conference attendees will walk away with a thorough, practical understanding of how a registered apprenticeship program is created!

While the WORKShop will consume all of one day (Thursday) at the conference, there will be tons of great sessions during the rest of the event. The final agenda is still being developed, but here is a brief summary:

  • On Tuesday, May 22nd, Early Registration will open from 3:00-6:00 pm, followed by a Networking session for attendees arriving on Tuesday
  • Registration opens and breakfast will be served from 7:00-8:00 am on Wednesday
  • Roger Curtis, Director of Michigan's Department of Talent of Economic Development, will be Wednesday's Keynote Speaker
  • Sessions will run through 2:30 pm on Wednesday, followed by tours of L. Mawby Vineyards and Michigan Local Hops (a 200-acre hops farm)
  • MEATA's famous Dinner and Gift Exchange will take place on Thursday night
  • The final day of the conference (Friday) will start with breakfast at 7:00 am, followed by additional learning sessions and a closing session devoted to MEATA business and officer elections

Sessions topics planned for the conference include:

  • Non-traditional Programs with a Twist on Intermediary Credentials: Agriculture and Marine Technology
  • Apprenticeship Meets Artificial Intelligence
  • Registered Apprenticeship for Workforce Development Specialists
  • Internship to Registered Apprenticeship
  • Women in the Trades
  • Michigan's Talent Pipeline Management Efforts
  • Everything Apprenticeship Providers Need to Know about EEO
  • Apprenticeship Success Stories from Local Traverse City "Mom and Pop" Companies
  • A spotlight on the Michigan Apprenticeship Steering Committee, Inc. (MASCI)

Cost to attend the entire conference, including meals, is just $275 per person...with a discount rate of $200 for K-12 professionals and U.S. DOL staff.

To register for the conference, click here!

MEATA has also arranged for a special rate of just $119.95 per night at the West Bay Beach Resort. To take advantage of this discount, you must make your reservations by April 21st. Call 231-947-3700 or toll free at 800-888-8020 and tell them you want the MEATA group discount.

Sponsorship opportunities also exist for this event. Interested in gaining additional visibility during the conference? Download the MEATA Conference Sponsorship Form for details!

And last but not least, there are 24 player spots available in the MEATA Golf Outing being held prior to the conference on May 22nd starting at 11:00 am. The outing will be held at the Crown Golf Course at 2430 Crown Drive, Traverse City MI 49685. Cost for 18 holes with cart is just $39 per person. To reserve a spot, e-mail Amy Burns Bailey at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by close of business on May 7th.

OPPORTUNITY: CTE

As part of the National Apprenticeship Week festivities in Michigan, MEATA held its 2017 Fall Drive-In Conference on Thursday, November 16th in the Bert Walker Hall Community Rooms on the campus of Jackson College (2111 Emmons Rd, Jackson, MI 49201).

Highlights of the conference included:

  • Roger Curtis, director of Michigan's Department of Talent & Economic Development, discussed the new Michigan Career Pathways Alliance
  • Attendees learned about the successful Downriver Career Technical Consortium CTE program in partnership with Henry Ford College and the UAW-Ford Flat Rock Assembly Plant
  • Jackson College and Michigan's Dept. of Corrections shared details on how they are preparing returning citizens to become productive members of the workforce through the Prison Education Initiative and the Vocational Village program
  • Jackson County's Career Readiness Taskforce spotlighted its efforts to drive quality CTE experiences and awareness of apprenticeships into 100% of the county's middle and high schools
  • The day ended with a tour of the Jackson Area Career Center (across the street from Jackson College)

Copies of the conference presentations are available for download here!

And check out JTV's interview of Roger Curtis that was filmed at the conference.

The State of Michigan's new Going Pro campaign is getting the word out that there are great in demand jobs in advanced manufacturing, IT, construction, health care and more that don't require a four year degree. Check out the video below and then visit the Going Pro website for more videos and resources.

Alabama Public Radio recently ran an interview piece that focused entirely on apprenticeship as a pathway to great careers.

Participants included:

  •  Nicholas Wyman, CEO of the Institute for Workplace Skills and Innovation
  • Ken Hitchcock, Director of the Pickens County Career and Technology Center in Liberty, South Carolina
  • Christine Scullion, Director of HR Policy at the National Association of Manufacturing
  • Cory McCray, a delegate from the Maryland House of Delegates and a former IBEW electrician apprentice
  • Robert Lerman, Urban Institute fellow, founder of the American Institute for Innovative Apprenticeship, and professor emeritus of economics at American University.

Visit APR's site to listen to the interview.

 

New Equipment Digest ran an article on June 20th titled "Trench Warfare: How to Fight the Skills Gap". The article begins:

"All across the nation, we’re fighting the past: an aging infrastructure, a decaying education system, and outdated job stereotypes. Our future depends on us digging in and going to war with the skills gap."

The article touches on apprenticeship as a weapon to help fight that war. It also includes info on multiple initiatives and resources, like the Get Real Math! classroom videos created by the Northeast Wisconsin (NEW) Manufacturing Alliance to help teachers bring relevance to their math instruction.

 Read the full article here!

On June 15, President Trump signed an Executive Order meant to expand apprenticeships. Click here to read the text of the executive order.

Inside Higher Ed, which covers news of relevance to institutions of higher education, covered the Trump administration's apprenticeship push in a June 14 article titled "New Money and New Players on Apprenticeship". The article does a good job of covering the key points of the initiative. Read the full article here.

A June 18 article in Forbes covered the topic, noting "This New Trump Plan Could Be the Answer to Millennial Job Woes." Read the article here.

The Hill, a popular news source within the D.C. beltway, ran an article by Robert Lerman, founder of the American Institute for Innovative Apprenticeship, that concludes "The president's effors are a good start toward the long-run goals of shifting workforce policy toward successful apprenticeships and away from costlier and less effective programs." Read the full article here.

 

2017 Spring Conference Title

PRESENTATIONS NOW AVAILABLE!

We've posted downloadable copies of the presentations and related documents from MEATA's 2017 Spring Apprenticeship Conference in our Documents area. Please note that there are two pages of document listings, so be sure to click to the second page to see all of the presentations.

We also have create a Photobucket album slideshow containing pictures from the event.

Thanks to all the presenters and attendees!

An Industry Week article spotlights Toyota's Georgetown, KY, plant's efforts to fill the facilities projected need for tool and die makers. Here's an excerpt:

In 2013, Wally Palen realized he had a “people problem.” Tool and die makers at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, where he is assistant general manager, were disproportionately reaching retirement age, and replacements were hard to come by.

Looking ahead, the workload was only getting heavier. With a cascade of new vehicle models at Toyota—from the recently introduced to the forthcoming—the need for new dies is currently the highest in 25 years, and projected to grow even more. Yet 36% percent of the Toyota Kentucky’s 200 tool and die makers are already at or near retirement age. The percentage goes up to 43% by 2021.

So the affable Ohio State University graduate—who oversees Toyota’s die manufacturing operation and 19 stamping lines—set about coming up with a contingency plan. He estimates he’ll need 52 more toolmakers by 2021, but will only be able to find 15 through traditional HR.

The rest? He’s angling for 32 of them to come through a new apprentice program he got going with “brute force” (his words), and five from retraining promising production team members.

Read the rest of the story here!

More Articles ...

  1. Detroit Free Press: New Detroit partnership aims kids at skilled trades
  2. NSC Releases Toolkits to Help States Create Policies to Bridge the Skills Gap
  3. Automation Alley: How to develop a strong next-generation manufacturing workforce
  4. Forbes: Why We Need to Bring Back Vocational Training in Schools
  5. Michigan Receives ApprenticeshipUSA Accelerator Grant
  6. What if the "skills gap" is actually a "values gap"?
  7. U.S. and Switzerland to partner on apprenticeship program
  8. Yahoo Finance: 'The other 4-year degree’: Why everyone’s talking about apprenticeships

Upcoming Events

MEATA Spring 2018 Apprenticeship Conference

Begin: 2018-05-22, 03:00 pm
End: 2018-05-25, 12:00 pm
Location: Holiday Inn Resort West Bay Beach, Traverse City
Fees: $ 275.00
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