Latest Registered Apprenticeship News
 Apprenticeship Programs: On the
Thursday, March 19 edition of The Iowa Journal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 17, 2009
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Glover Konfrst, 515-242-3146
(Johnston, Iowa) – Thursday’s
edition of The Iowa Journal will explore apprenticeship
programs in Iowa. This episode will air Thursday, March 19
at 8 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television. It will be
rebroadcast on Friday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. on IPTV. The
program, as well as additional interviews and information,
will also be available online at Iptv.org.
In January, Iowa’s unemployment rate increased to 4.8
percent, with 80,600 Iowans out of work. With furloughs,
layoffs and business closings, what are the jobs of the
future and how do we train for them? And if people are
unemployed, how do they afford the cost of training for a
new career?
Apprenticeship programs, where the apprentice can "earn
while they learn," may be part of the answer. Nationally,
there are more than 1,000 career options associated with an
apprenticeship program. It is a cost-effective means of
obtaining higher education in a classroom as well as
hands-on training in a job they may hold for years to come.
In this episode, The Iowa Journal profiles the Plumbers and
Steamfitters Local #33 apprentice program in Des Moines,
where the 2009-10 enrollment stands at 230 students. In the
studio to discuss the potential of such programs to provide
an affordable higher education and what a skilled workforce
can contribute to the state's growth in economic development
are three guests: Greer Sisson, Iowa state director of the
office of Apprenticeships in the U.S. Department of Labor,
Elisabeth Buck, director of Iowa Workforce Development, and
Nancy Kothenbeutel, executive director of Continuing
Education at Eastern Iowa Community College District in
Davenport.
For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit
www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call
(515) 242-3146.
Iowa Public Television is
Iowa's statewide public broadcasting network. IPTV provides
quality, noncommercial programming to make a difference in
the lives of Iowans. As one of the last locally controlled
media enterprises in the state, IPTV is committed to telling
Iowa's stories like no one else can. Our mission to educate,
inform, enrich, and inspire Iowans enables IPTV to present
an unequaled array of programs of lasting value to Iowans
regardless of where they live or what they can afford. More
than one million viewers a week turn to IPTV for programming
that reflects a range of interests for Iowans in all
demographic categories. Iowa Public Television stations
include: Channel 11, Des Moines; Channel 12, Iowa City;
Channel 21, Fort Dodge; Channel 24, Mason City; Channel 27,
Sioux City; Channel 32, Waterloo; Channel 32, Council
Bluffs; Channel 36, Davenport; Channel 36, Red Oak.
IPTV-Digital stations include: Channel 11.1, Des Moines;
Channel 12.1, Iowa City; Channel 21.1, Fort Dodge; Channel
24.1, Mason City; Channel 27.1, Sioux City; Channel 32.1,
Waterloo; Channel 32.1, Council Bluffs; Channel 36.1, Red
Oak; Channel 36.1, Davenport.
Governor Culver visits New PHCC (Plumbing Heating & Cooling
Contractors) Statewide Apprenticeship Program Laboratory
On January 7th, 2009, Iowa Governor Chet Culver visited with
5the PHCC-IA apprenticeship program laboratory
in Cedar Rapids. "We need this type of program to make sure
we have the skilled workforce ready and able to help us
recover and build a better and stronger Iowa," Culver said.
PHCC-IA is a statewide association of contractors engaged in
the fields of plumbing and HVAC. The organization started
their two apprentice programs in 1992 through the Eastern
Iowa Chapter of PHCC. Initial classes were held on
Kirkwood’s campus in 1994 and in the fall of 2001, PHCC
through ACE funding, established the plumbing and HVAC lab
in Washington Hall with Eastern Iowan contractors donating
almost all of the equipment we currently utilize. PHCC
members even did a lot of the actual construction to remodel
the room. Through their equipment donations, labor and
support, Kirkwood was able to start their current plumbing
and HVAC credit and non-credit programs the following year.br />
Read Article...
TMC Recognized as a National Apprenticeship Provider
TMC Transportation, the largest privately-held flatbed
carrier in the nation, is now recognized by the US
Department of Labor as a partner in the National
Apprenticeship Program.
This program allows new and current TMC drivers to be
recognized and receive accreditation through the US
Department of Labor. Through the program, apprentices become
invested in improving their skills and in achieving a
Certificate of Completion, a nationally recognized
credential. Apprentices not only learn the techniques of the
occupation, they also understand why they do what they do.
They become good problem solvers, work better as team
members, and demonstrate better interpersonal skills
Chef Youth Apprenticeship Program: Solution through
Innovation
Scott Community College’s school-to-apprenticeship program
wins the 2008 Idaho Potato Commission/CAFÉ Leadership Award
"Apprenticeship models are old-fashioned!”
“Students no longer need to participate in the long, slow
process of slavery in the kitchen … instead, they can attend
one of the hundreds of culinary programs throughout the U.S.
and finish in two years!”
Such statements are heard whenever a group of educators
gather. Instructors are certain that student learning and
expectations have kept pace with the proliferation of
culinary programs both at the high-school and college
levels.
Brad Scott, winner of the 2008 Idaho Potato Commission/CAFÉ
Leadership Award, felt differently. He came from a
background of “show me and I’ll learn,” and though he was
successfully employed by Scott Community College,
Bettendorf, Iowa, leading a culinary-arts program, he felt
that education was ignoring a large segment of students who
(thought they) were not “college material.”
The school-to-apprenticeship program was to prove extremely
valuable to the numerous students at the high-school level
who never dreamed that they could enter a field with good
skills and even go on to college to earn a degree in their
profession.
The key to this successful program has been the Iowa
Communications Network (ICN), a two-way interactive video
system with student classrooms at schools in every Iowa
school district.
Eleventh- and 12th-grade students can enroll in the Chef
Youth Apprenticeship Program to earn elective credits for
high-school graduation. Classes include Sanitation and
Safety, Food and Nutrition, Introduction to Baking and Food
Production and Management.
In addition, students can participate in a practicum
experience with local chefs and restaurateurs that also
count toward nine hours of community-college credit for a
degree in culinary arts.
Department of Labor Publishes Rules to Modernize
National Apprenticeship System
The Department of Labor's Employment and Training
Administration released updated regulations for the
National Apprenticeship System. The Office of
Apprenticeship has launched a new resource to
provide you with information and to keep you updated
on new developments related to these regulations.
Software Engineering Services (SES),
registered the FIRST "IT" Apprenticeship program in the
State of Iowa. More than 75% of SES's employees are veterans
and they are currently working with the Veterans
Administration in helping them to identify hundreds of
returning and retiring veterans to the State of Iowa to be
part of our apprenticeship program. SES has eight of their
eleven occupations registered with the United States
Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship. They are
excited about finding companies here in Iowa
interested in participating in their registered
apprenticeship program by becoming sponsoring employers.
Read Article...
Below are the currents stats for FY 08 (Oct - Sep):
Active Apprenticeship Programs: 481
(This includes the programs who are in Iowa but
registered through our SD office)
New Apprenticeship Programs (FY08): 83
(This does not include the new programs in Iowa
registered in SD)
Active Apprentices: 4826
(This does not include the Active Apprentices in Iowa
registered in SD)
New Apprentices: 1782 (FY08)
(This does not include the new Apprentices in Iowa
registered in SD)
Completed Apprentices: 750
(This does not include the completed apprentices in Iowa
but registered in SD)
Greer L. Sisson, Iowa State Director
U.S. Department of Labor/Office of Apprenticeship
210 Walnut Room 715
Des Moines IA 50309
Ph: 515-284-4690
Fax: 515 284-4195
E-mail
sisson.greer@dol.gov
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Apprenticeship