The U.S. Department of Labor (US-DOL) has announced an award of $3,450,000 in grant funding to expand registered apprenticeships in Mississippi. The grant was announced in partnership with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) and the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB).
The funding program for the grant, “Building State Capacity to Expand Apprenticeship through Innovation,” is administered by US-DOL’s Employment and Training Administration. It is designed to support states and territories in implementing the activities below which will be a roadmap in utilizing the grant funds.
- Expanding registered apprenticeships in healthcare, mental health care, addiction treatment, or alternative pain management occupations providing support to individuals living in rural areas;
- Incorporating specific strategies to support or expand Registered Apprenticeship opportunities among all workers, including women, minorities, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with a criminal record;
- Supporting system alignment and partnership through the establishment or expansion of the role of the business service representatives/apprenticeship navigators with the promotion of apprenticeship to partner systems;
- Developing innovative technical assistance strategies/approaches for Registered Apprenticeship sponsors;
- Establishing an employer incentive plan to expand or scale Registered Apprenticeships;
- Identifying specific strategies to support engagement with small businesses in nontraditional industries in Registered Apprenticeships; and
- Launching or expanding sector strategies to expand the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) to new industries and/or new or non-traditional occupations in existing sectors.
“The grant will allow our state’s Apprenticeship Program to provide more opportunities in developing skillsets for our state’s residents and provide greater focus on innovation into the Mississippi Apprenticeship Program (MAP),” said Jackie Turner, Executive Director for Mississippi Department of Employment Security. “MAP is a proven workforce and leadership development tool that helps businesses expand their talent pool and improve their bottom line,” said Turner.
“The Mississippi Apprenticeship Program has been successful in providing training opportunities to participating employers and employees,” said Dr. Andrea Mayfield, Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board. “This grant will allow the state to build on the existing program so that more entities can access registered apprenticeships that will help grow business and industry. This will benefit our entire state.”
Click here to learn more about the Mississippi Apprenticeship Program (MAP).
