Front Range Community College is the first college in Colorado to participate in the federal ambassador program, which aims to expand, strengthen, diversify and promote apprenticeships around the country.
The apprenticeship ambassador initiative seeks to create a national network of employers, labor organizations, industry associations, program sponsors, educators, workforce intermediaries, minority serving organizations, community-based organizations and other stakeholders to serve as “champions for expanding and diversifying Registered Apprenticeship,” according to apprenticeship ambassador webpage.
Apprentices get paid to learn new skills and certifications for their particular field of work — launching them quickly into new careers in growing industries like health care and information technology, a FRCC news release states. “These nationally recognized immersive training programs combine real work with learning — both on and off the job,” FRCC states.
FRCC — which includes campuses in Longmont, Fort Collins and Westminster — already partners with 27 local employers to offer apprenticeships in high-demand health care occupations as well manufacturing and tree care, according to an FRCC news release. The college is currently looking for new business partners to expand its offerings in health care, information technology and other fields, the news release states.
“Apprenticeships are a critical component of the state’s workforce development strategy,” said Chris Heuston, who leads FRCC’s apprenticeships efforts. “The create a more direct training and hiring link between job seekers and employers,” Heuston said in the news release.
“Apprenticeships also help increase workforce diversity by giving historically underserved individuals access to career pathways in Colorado’s high-demand industries,” she said. “By connecting education and skill training with on-the-job learning, apprenticeships expand students’ career opportunities and help local businesses train the talent they need for hard-to-fill positions.”
Cybersecurity is a special focus for the Department of Labor and almost every business and government agency employs information technology professions in cyber and other specializations,” said Janel Highfill, FRCC’s associate vice president of workforce development.
“With stiff competition for tech professionals, apprenticeships help employers open new hiring pipelines — and also give their current employees an opportunity to upskill,” Highfill said in the news release. It’s a really effective way to fill these critical positions with highly-trained workers.”
As champions for registered apprenticeship, ambassadors will partner with the DOL to:
- Promote and expand awareness of the benefits of registered apprenticeship in the US;
- Identify and scale innovative practices and partnerships to modernize, strengthen and accelerate the adoption of the registered apprenticeship model;
- Increase access and support for underrepresented and underserved populations in registered apprenticeship—including women, youth, people of color, rural communities, justice-involved individuals and people with disabilities;
- Communicate the business case for registered apprenticeship as a mainstream workforce strategy for high-demand industries—one that creates opportunities for good jobs for all Americans across the economy.
As a group, ambassador organizations around the U.S. have committed to hosting 3,367 outreach and recruitment activities, 892 training sessions and 717 promotional meetings related to apprenticeships. They have also pledged to develop 460 new registered apprenticeship programs and 387 resources in their first year as ambassadors, according to FRCC.
Front Range Community College partners with area businesses to combine paid on-the-job training (provided by the employer) with related instruction (provided by the college). FRCC apprenticeships provide students a seamless transition from education to employment and allows them to earn while they learn, FRCC states.
“Over the last year, FRCC has served 324 apprentices and pre-apprentices in our health care, manufacturing and tree care apprenticeship programs. In addition to getting paid while going to school, 92% of our apprentices have completed their FRCC certificate while working in their chosen field,” according to the FRCC news release.
