I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to speak at and participate in the Apprenticeship Forward Conference in Washington, D.C., May 4th and 5th, 2017.
The conference description is as follows:
“Apprenticeship Forward will bring together hundreds of leaders from the apprenticeship community, including industry associations and employers; unions and labor-management partnerships; community-based organizations;
community colleges; high schools; and workforce boards– as well as federal and state policymakers from throughout the country. It will focus on three critical challenges facing the expansion of apprenticeship in the U.S.:
increasing industry engagement across a range of sectors and firms; addressing equity issues while diversifying the apprenticeship pipeline; and implementing new public policies that can support industry’s taking apprenticeship to scale.
Apprenticeship Forward will feature engaging plenaries and dozens of focused breakout sessions. Conference participants will spend time talking to and learning from each other in working group discussions. Industry and training experts from across a wide range of sectors will facilitate these interactive sessions. They will be an opportunity for conference-goers to share successes and challenges in expanding or diversifying apprenticeship in specific industries and within different student or worker populations. “
IEC Chesapeake is very happy to see that a strong emphasis is continuing to be placed on American apprenticeship, and how this highly successful model in the trades can and should be adopted by all businesses.
Internships don’t work- apprentices do. The earn while you learn model works for both blue and white collar; ask any European.
I am excited to participate in this conference, and hope that it produces a strong momentum for apprenticeships in the United States.
Apprenticeships put people to work- not promises.
-Grant Shmelzer
Executive Director IEC Chesapeake
