WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a total of $1,938,182 in grants to help women through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program, an initiative designed to recruit, train and retain women in high-skill occupations in advanced manufacturing, transportation, energy, construction, information technology and other industries.

"Creating opportunities for women to gain the training and experience needed to compete for skilled jobs is critical to our nation's future," said Portia Wu, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training. "The federal funding announced today will go to organizations that are working to break down barriers for women in nontraditional fields and will help them enter Registered Apprenticeship programs that lead to long-term employment and middle class wages."

Grantees will use the funds awarded today to develop Regional Multi-State Technical Assistance Resource Centers that will support women entering into nontraditional occupations. Services will include:

• the development of connections between the centers and pre-apprenticeship programs in their area to prepare women for Registered Apprenticeship programs;
• orientations on creating a successful environment for women in apprenticeship; and
• assistance in the form of child care, transportation, support groups and other efforts to remove barriers to women.

The grants are jointly administered by the department's Women's Bureau and its Office of Apprenticeship. For information about the department's range of employment and training programs, visit http://www.doleta.gov.

Editor's note: A list of grantees, their locations and award amounts follows this news release.

Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Grants

LANSING -- High schools will better prepare some students for a career after graduation, according to supporters of a bill signed by Gov. Rick Snyder today that allow technical education classes to be substituted for Algebra II.

The changes to the Michigan Merit Curriculum allow for career and technical education courses to substitute for the second algebra class requirement if those courses incorporate the algebra material. Students will also get more information on how to use the "personal curriculum" option to structure their high school schedules to incorporate career and technical education courses.

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Keith Campbell, former Director of Automation for The Hershey Co., has compiled a resource guide for "preparing for the manufacturing renaissance in America." In each chapter, a guest author tackles issues related to career pathways, training and college credit, industry credentials, veterans and more. Campbell sums the Playbook up best:

There are at least three constituencies that need to be involved to solve the workforce development crisis in America: industry itself, the education system, and government through its national, state, and regional workforce and economic development boards. And we can’t forget the most important constituents, the customers--those workers, students, and parents of students who must navigate the choices made available to them for their best advantage.

After spending 30 years in industry and 10 years working with educators and workforce development practitioners, I can guarantee you that the rules that these groups play by are VERY different. That is not to say that any of them are bad, just different. If we are to solve this problem, each group must work to understand the other and then join together to effect change. Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.

That is why this Playbook has been prepared, first to facilitate communication and understanding and then to solve the problem.

Download a copy of the Playbook!

Mike Rowe calls meeting quadruple amputee, Vassar veteran Travis Mills a 'gut check'

VASSAR, MI — Mike Rowe was at The Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., a few weeks ago, when a fan asked to meet him.

The host of the former Discovery Channel show "Dirty Jobs" agreed, even though he was rushing to get through a crowd as he headed backstage. The fan was retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, a Vassar native and one of five American soldiers to survive a quadruple amputation.

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