The US Department of Labor and the non-profit Project Lead The Way (PLTW) have partnered to launch a pilot youth apprenticeship program in engineering. Kicking off in Charleston, SC, the pilot offers two pathways to meet the needs of students with different career goals. One pathway is referred to as an Engineering Assistant program and is geared toward students who plan to ultimately pursue a four-year engineering degree. The other pathway is referred to as an Engineering Technician program, which is designed for students who prefer an apprenticeship experience that is more hands-on and have the goal to get an associate degree and start their career earlier.

Read the full article here!

The U.S. Dept. of Labor has launched a web resource devoted to High School Apprenticeship that includes the DOL's first High School Apprenticeship Toolkit. This webpage contains a wealth of resources for secondary and postsecondary institutions, workforce development practitioners, school counselors, teachers, parents, and more.  

The toolkit includes:

• A Fact Sheet on High School Apprenticeship
• An Implementation Guide
• Case Studies on Wisconsin’s Youth Apprenticeship program and the Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship program
• Resources for practitioners and other stakeholders

Click the following link to access the webpage/toolkit: www.dol.gov/apprenticeship/high-school.

The U.S. Dept. of Labor has announced launch of Apprenticeship.gov, a website that “delivers on the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion’s recommendation to ‘compile apprenticeship information in a single, online, centralized website'.” The website, according to the DOL, "will evolve into a robust one-stop platform to connect job seekers, job creators, training providers, parents, teachers, and federal and local workforce agencies with information and resources to learn more about apprenticeships, how to establish apprenticeship program and how to access open apprenticeship opportunities.” Launch of the site “comes at the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s executive order expanding apprenticeships in America, which directed the US Department of Labor to expand access to apprenticeship opportunities to help more Americans secure family-sustaining jobs.”

MEATA's 2018 Spring Apprenticeship Conference took place on May 22-25 at the Holiday Inn Resort West Bay Beach in Traverse City. This was MEATA's biggest conference ever, with around 180 people attending the event. The highlight of the conference was the very first Apprenticeship in a Day WORKShop during which a total of 12 companies/organizations completed AND registered their Standards of Apprenticeship with the U.S. Dept. of Labor in just a single day!

For a summary of the important accomplishments that happened at the event, please check out the Thank You Letter to Participants from MEATA Chair Janene Erne.

There were also tons of great presentations and learning sessions during the conference, including:

• Roger Curtis, Director of Michigan's Department of Talent and Economic Development, was Wednesday's Keynote Speaker and he unveiled Michigan's new Experience Sooner apprenticeship marketing campaign
• Non-traditional Programs with a Twist on Intermediary Credentials: Agriculture and Marine Technology
• A New Apprenticeship Opportunity for Artificial Intelligence Technicians
• Registered Apprenticeship for Workforce Development Specialists
• Women in the Trades
• Michigan's Talent Pipeline Management Efforts
• Everything Apprenticeship Providers Need to Know about EEO
• A spotlight on the Michigan Apprenticeship Steering Committee, Inc. (MASCI)
• Tours of L. Mawby Vineyards and Michigan Local Hops (a 200-acre hops farm)

Copies of a handful of the Powerpoint presentations and other documents from the conference are available for download from the site's Documents section.

A Google Photos album contains pictures from the Apprenticeship in a Day signings. A second Google Photos album with pictures from the signing as well as from the rest of the conference can be viewed here.

Here are some links to press coverage of the conference and the State of Michigan's unveiling of the Experience Sooner campaign:

• Article in the Traverse City Record Eagle
• Coverage on Channel 9 & 10 News
• UpNorthLive's coverage

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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.