All Posts By

devin

Jan 11

Hidden Workers: Uncovering Untapped Talent

By AIOs, Apprentices, Employers

Research from Accenture shows how hidden workers, including workers with disabilities, can face enormous challenges finding work or increasing their hours. The reason? They’re often screened out early on by hiring processes that rely on recruitment management systems to automatically filter and rank candidates. Hiring hidden workers is not just good for the individuals concerned, it also offers real benefits to the organizations they join. Nearly two-thirds of executives hiring hidden workers report that their new recruits perform “significantly better” than average across a range of key indicators including work ethic, productivity, work quality, attendance and innovation.

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Dec 23

Leveraging Registered Apprenticeship to Build a Thriving and Inclusive Economy

By AIOs, Employers

As Governors continue to navigate an evolving labor market and economic climate, registered apprenticeship can be leveraged as a proven strategy for bolstering both businesses and workers. Scaling and sustaining robust, equitable registered apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship ecosystems is a reliable and proven approach Governors can take to ensure their state is economically competitive and that every youth and adult – regardless of race, gender, ability, prior educational background or socio-economic status – can access quality training pathways that lead to family-sustaining careers.

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Dec 23

Promising Approaches for Connecting Opportunity Youth to Registered Apprenticeships

By AIOs, Employers

Learn promising practices in building and growing successful apprenticeship programs for opportunity youth. This online resource explores promising approaches and highlights examples of activities and strategies in the following five categories: Employer Engagement; Recruiting and Engaging Youth; Braided and Adaptive Funding; Building Partnerships, Ecosystems, and Intermediaries; and Inclusive Program Design.

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Dec 21

Diversifying the Solar Workforce through Inclusive Apprenticeships

By AIOs, Employers

Apprenticeship programs that are designed to be inclusive of people with disabilities — and underrepresented groups more broadly — can play a vital role in building out the solar industry’s future workforce. This talent pipeline offers a cadre of trained and experienced job candidates with diverse skill sets, knowledge and abilities. Learn the steps to create an inclusive apprenticeship program for the solar sector in this article written by Josh Christianson, PIA Project Director, and published in Solar Power World.

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Dec 01

Providing Effective Workforce Development Services to Individuals with Disabilities in a Limited Resource Environment

By AIOs, Employers

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, in collaboration with the State Exchange on Employment & Disability, published a toolkit on “Providing Effective Workforce Development Services to Individuals with Disabilities in a Limited Resource Environment.” A return to pre-pandemic workforce standards in many cities across the U.S would only continue the trend of flat or unimproved employment rates among people with disabilities. This toolkit outlines the importance of mayoral advocacy to drive change. New initiatives can positively change the landscape of opportunity for workers with disabilities and businesses owned by individuals with disabilities.

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Nov 30

Inclusive Apprenticeships: Increasing Access to Clean Energy Careers for People with Disabilities

By AIOs, Apprentices, Employers

According to the 2021 U.S. Energy and Employment Report, a growing number of job opportunities abound in the clean energy sector. This sector includes jobs in industries ranging from electric vehicles to solar power installation. Although there were more than 3 million clean energy-related jobs in 2020, many employers in the clean energy sector reported major challenges in finding skilled candidates to fill positions. Registered Apprenticeship Programs can play a vital role in building talent pipelines to fill the anticipated increase in skilled clean energy positions.

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Nov 19

Inclusive Apprenticeships: The Importance of Accessibility

By AIOs, Employers

The Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology posted a blog on “Inclusive Apprenticeships: The Importance of Accessibility.” The blog by Josh Christianson, director of the Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship, examines the importance of creating apprenticeship programs that are inclusive and accessible to ensure everyone, including people with disabilities, can fully participate in opportunities that can add lifetime benefits to their careers.

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Nov 12

The Future of Apprenticeship: Inclusion, Expansion, and the Post-Pandemic World of Work

By AIOs, Employers

As the economy recovers from the pandemic, states are exploring a variety of strategies to strengthen an important career pathway for all, including individuals with disabilities, through apprenticeship programs in fields like state government, health care, information technology, and cybersecurity. The report incorporates input from dozens of apprenticeship program officials and experts around the country, examples from 30 states, and a comprehensive list of suggested strategies across four categories for states to consider based on programs that already have seen success around the country.

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