JAMA Receives $780,000 Grant to Expand Apprenticeship Program

(March 2, 2021 10:45 AM)  The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) announced the Jackson Area Manufacturers Association (JAMA) is among the recipients of grants totaling more than $6 million to help support the development of over 2,300 Registered Apprenticeship opportunities throughout the state. 

The State Apprenticeship Expansion grants have been awarded to nine Regional Implementation Consortia to increase and develop registered apprenticeship opportunities. Funds provided by the grant awards will help support 200 employer sponsors for Registered Apprenticeship Program costs, including on-the-job learning and related technical instruction.

Bill Rayl, President of JAMA, told JTV News the organization is pleased to receive this grant award of $780,000.  “(This) will allow us to expand our youth registered apprenticeship efforts to all of Region 9’s five counties. JAMA will be working hand-in-hand with Michigan Works! Southeast, our region’s career and tech education centers, multiple local school districts, employers and employer support groups to integrate registered apprenticeship and apprenticeship readiness into many of the outstanding work-based learning programs already available in our region,” said Rayl.

JAMA has been sponsoring U.S. Dept. of Labor Registered Apprenticeship programming since 2005 and launched their first official youth registered apprenticeship efforts in 2014 as part of the Jackson Area Career Center’s JAC3 early/middle college. Rayl added, “We look forward to bringing these apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities to young adults and employers across Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston and Washtenaw counties.”

“Increasing access to Registered Apprenticeship programs means more opportunities for job seekers to earn while they learn, gaining in-demand skills and a nationally recognized credential in a critical industry,” LEO Acting Director Susan Corbin said. “At the same time, it helps local Michigan businesses fill a continuous talent pipeline by providing a stream of qualified candidates who are trained and certified based on the employer’s needs.”

Regional Implementation Consortia will lead expansion activities to accelerate the growth of more than 2,300 apprentices with a focus on underrepresented populations – including minorities, females, youth, individuals with disabilities and veterans – in high-skill, high-wage, in-demand careers in advanced manufacturing, construction, energy, healthcare, information technology and mobility sectors to help secure Michigan’s future.

Lead partners for the nine Regional Implementation Consortia grant recipients include:

• Jackson Area Manufacturers Association (260 new Registered Apprentices; $780,000 grant award)
• Michigan State AFL-CIO Workforce Development Institute (440; $1,100,000)
• Michigan Works! Region 7B / Great Lakes Bay Michigan Works! (250; $735,750)
• Michigan Works! Southwest (176; $528,000)
• Networks Northwest (100; $300,000)
• Oakland County Workforce Development / Oakland County Michigan Works! (250; $625,000)
• The Michigan Chamber of Commerce Foundation / Michigan Energy Workforce Development Consortium (427; $1,108,666)
• Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! (200; $550,000)
• West Michigan Works! (200; $525,800)

“These grantees are partners committed to incorporating best practices for serving underrepresented populations and managing quality pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship readiness programs – all in an effort to create a robust service delivery model that benefits Michigan workers and employers,” said LEO’s Office of Employment and Training Director Stephanie Beckhorn. “Registered apprenticeship expansion allows us to help more individuals gain paid work experience and related classroom instruction, usually with little or no cost to the individual.”

The grantees will lead statewide and/or local program implementation activities to establish new or expand existing Registered Apprenticeship Programs. Regional Implementation Consortia partners include employers, labor, Michigan Works! Agencies, secondary educational partners, postsecondary institutions and others. Employers interested in sponsoring new Registered Apprenticeship Programs or expanding existing programs may be able to work with Regional Implementation Consortia to become part of the expansion efforts. Additionally, LEO will issue a second RFP opportunity making available more than $5 million for further state expansion in April 2021.

To increase the overall understanding of apprenticeship opportunities in the state, LEO recently launched the Michigan Registered Apprenticeship Data Dashboard. This online tool allows users to explore registered apprenticeships in regions across the state, including how many active apprentices there are and the occupations and industries in which they are employed.

To further support Michigan’s registered apprenticeship expansion efforts, a new state-level Apprenticeship Advisory Board has been established. The board consists of members from multiple industry sectors, labor, secondary and postsecondary education, workforce development and the U.S. Department of Labor Michigan Office of Apprenticeship. The board will provide guidance on innovation and implementation strategies to expand Registered Apprenticeship Programs statewide.

The board’s first meeting will be held virtually on March 17; once established, the schedule for future meetings will be available at Michigan.gov/Apprenticeship.

To learn more about registered apprenticeship in Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/Apprenticeship.