Technical college awarded $7.9M grant for transportation apprenticeship programs

South Central Louisiana Technical College has been awarded a $7.9 million contract to lead work in Louisiana and across the U.S. to build transportation industry apprenticeship programs, according to a Louisiana Community and Technical College System news release.

The college has campuses in Morgan City, Thibodaux and Reserve.

The contract is one of 14 awarded to national industry intermediaries and equity partners by the U.S. Department of Labor and part of the agency's $90 million funding strategy to grow and diversify registered apprenticeships nationwide through its ApprenticeshipUSA initiative.

"This new contract demonstrates that our commitment to increasing good paying, competitive jobs in Louisiana by expanding registered apprenticeship programs across the state is not only working, but it's catching the attention of stakeholders across the country," said Gov. John Bel Edwards. "An opportunity like this brings together partners who have laid the groundwork to receive this grant. This will result in a more skilled workforce for our transportation industry and provide workers with a chance to earn new credentials while making a full-time salary and benefits."

The announcement comes at the conclusion of National Apprenticeship Week 2016. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor shows 91 percent of those who complete their apprenticeship programs find employment with average wages above $60,000.

"Apprenticeship programs are the gold standard in technical education training holding tremendous benefits for both workers and employers," said Monty Sullivan, president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. "This contract and recognition from the U.S. Department of Labor will expand apprenticeship opportunities for the people of Louisiana and result in a more skilled and competitive workforce for our transportation industry partners. SCLTC has shown strong leadership in this arena that will now benefit people and transportation industry partners across Louisiana."

The contract builds on the LCTCS' registered apprenticeship work with Dow Chemical Company. Last May, Dow and LCTCS announced an expansion of the firm's U.S. apprenticeship program to two new sites in Louisiana. Through the partnership, Dow apprentices will work toward their Associate of Applied Science degree while acquiring three years of world-class training.

"Registered apprenticeship combines the best of both worlds," says Earl Meador, director of South Central Louisiana Technical College. "It provides employers with a way of building their own workforce and it provides workers with an opportunity to learn critical skills while earning a full-time salary and benefits. We look forward to collaborating with key transportation industry leaders in Louisiana and nationwide to put more workers on the pathway to earn stackable academic and industry credentials and be well-positioned for promotion."

"Our agency is proud to support the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs into more areas and industries of our state," said Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director, Ava Dejoie. "Investing in more programs from a model with proven success is essential to building a sustainable economy and workforce for Louisiana."

Working Through and With Strategic Port Partners to Expand Registered Apprenticeship

With the U.S. DOL-awarded funds, SCLTC will develop four new regional transportation and logistics consortiums in the Gulf Coast, East Coast, West Coast and Great Lakes/Midwest in collaboration with trade industry partners to accelerate awareness and adoption of registered apprenticeship programs. It will focus consortium work around seaports and inland river ports which are a primary hub of multimodal transportation and logistics across the U.S. and represent a natural connection to thousands of employers.

"Our multimodal port-centered approach to expand registered apprenticeship programs creates an immediate natural network to reach 185 public ports including all of our nation's deep-draft ports which facilitate movement of 99.4 percent of all U.S. overseas trade; 55 of the top 100 airports in the U.S. handling multimodal freight and cargo movement from ports to customers nationwide; 10 national railway employers that operate more than 140,500 miles of rail; more than 500 highway transportation employers and over 700 supply chain logistics providers," explains Meador. "In addition, we will look to partner with community colleges nationwide to expand registered apprenticeship awareness and adoption by the local transportation and logistics employers they serve through their workforce development divisions."

Companies that sponsor registered apprenticeship programs for their employees develop a structured set of standards that include requirements for classroom instruction, frequently provided by community college partners, and paid on-the-job learning. Sponsors register their program standards and apprentices with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship or a State Apprenticeship Agency. Companies and their apprentices enter into an apprenticeship agreement and upon successful completion of academic and on-the-job learning, apprentices receive a nationally-recognized portable credential. Increasingly, community college partners are structuring apprentice coursework in such a way to award academic credit for the required classroom instruction; that way workers are put on both an industry and academic pathway by earning an academic credential as well as industry credential upon program completion. To support and expand the registered apprenticeship career pathway, community colleges are increasingly acting as the registered apprenticeship sponsor through USDOL's Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium; community college sponsorship accelerates and facilitates employers' ability to start and expand their registered apprenticeship programs.

Benefits of Registered Apprenticeship to American Workers and Employers

Registered apprenticeship has proven to reduce sponsoring companies' turnover costs and increase employee retention, improve worker productivity, attract new and more diverse talent pools, and close gaps in workers' skills and credentials. According to the USDOL OA, in FY 2015 more than 197,500 individuals entered registered apprenticeship programs nationwide and 52,500 participants graduated from 1-4 year programs. Currently, there are nearly 450,000 apprentices in the U.S. currently obtaining the work skills they need to succeed while earning the wages they need to build financial security.

"We know the immense value of registered apprenticeships for both workers and employers and we look forward to helping more transportation industry employers adopt this customized, flexible training solution to meet their workforce needs and remain competitive in a highly competitive, rapidly growing global economy," Meador said.