Vermont expands registered apprenticeships and links CTE, employers to grow trades and other occupations
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Summary
Department of Labor officials told lawmakers they are expanding registered apprenticeships, working with intermediaries and linking career-and-technical education to provide advanced standing for students entering apprenticeships.
Department of Labor officials told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee on Jan. 23 that the state is broadening registered apprenticeship programs and creating pathways from high school CTE programs to registered apprenticeship credits.
Commissioner Michael Harrington said a registered apprenticeship provides a nationally recognized credential because it is certified through the state and federal registration system, which allows a participant's credential to be portable across the country.
Why this matters: registered apprenticeships are employer-led training programs that commonly lead to long-term employment in trades but can also cover occupations in healthcare, IT and early childhood education. Expanding apprenticeship pathways can address labor shortages and business succession issues in Vermont.
Jay Ramsey, director of workforce development, described several expansions: apprenticeship programs for wastewater-treatment operators (in partnership with the Vermont Rural Water Association), early childhood-education apprenticeships developed with the Department for Children and Families, and a commercial carpenter program sponsored by Associated Builders and Contractors. Ramsey and Harrington emphasized the role of intermediaries such as the Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center, ski-area associations and Vermont State University in aggregating employers and delivering instruction where single employers lack sufficient enrollments.
Officials also discussed a pilot to ease transitions from CTE to apprenticeship: students in certain construction-related CTE programs will be able to receive related instruction credit through Vermont State University and have employer-documented on-the-job hours applied toward registered-apprenticeship requirements.
Harrington and Ramsey said apprenticeship participants in Vermont skew older than high-school age: the department cited an average apprentice age of 26 for males and 29 for females, reflecting many participants who enter apprenticeship after other post-secondary experiences. Officials noted that federal rules encourage spending a large share of youth-program dollars on "out-of-school youth," which makes youth recruitment to apprenticeship more challenging.
Ending: Committee members and department leaders agreed to continue work on employer outreach, intermediary partnerships and youth-apprenticeship pathways in follow-up meetings.