OTAN News

Learning More About Apprenticeships

Image External Link Icon opens in new window or tab by Mike Linderer External Link Icon opens in new window or tab from Pixabay External Link Icon opens in new window or tab

Last week was the 5th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week, a nationwide celebration that gives businesses, communities, and educators the opportunity to showcase their apprenticeship programs and apprentices while providing valuable information to career seekers. We hope that you had an opportunity to educate community members and stakeholders about apprenticeship programs that you offer and help your community understand the power of apprenticeships as a pathway to training, certification, and employment for adults.

Apprenticeships are an important component of WIOA, but many adult educators are not familiar with this valuable option for our students. National Apprenticeship Week is a great opportunity to learn more about apprenticeships so we can provide adult education students with information about pursuing this option as a means to bettering their lives.

• The Apprenticeship.gov External Link Icon opens in new window or tab website is maintained by the US Department of Labor, and it is a good starting point for a wide range of information about apprenticeships. There is an Apprenticeship Finder External Link Icon opens in new window or tab for job seekers, Resources that include what apprenticeships look like in different industries External Link Icon opens in new window or tab, and information about apprenticeships for Educators External Link Icon opens in new window or tab and Employers External Link Icon opens in new window or tab (as well as information about how schools and businesses can partner to create apprenticeship programs).

• The California Adult Education Program website External Link Icon opens in new window or tab has a section on apprenticeships. There are two resources on apprenticeships for English language learners – Opening Doors to Apprenticeships for Adult English Language Learners External Link Icon opens in new window or tab and a PowerPoint presentation from the recent CAEP Summit, Expanding Access to Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship for English Learners External Link Icon opens in new window or tab. There are also links to the California Apprenticeship Initiative Hub External Link Icon opens in new window or tab and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards website External Link Icon opens in new window or tab maintained by the State of California Department of Industrial Relations.

• Learn about pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs in your consortium. Here are some examples from the Contra Costa County Adult Education Consortium External Link Icon opens in new window or tab, Inland Adult Education Consortium External Link Icon opens in new window or tab, and State Center Adult Education Consortium External Link Icon opens in new window or tab.

Now is the time to learn more apprenticeships for ourselves and the benefit of our students!

Article: Are apprenticeships the new on-ramp to good jobs? External Link Icon opens in new window or tab from The Hechinger Report