“Inclusive Apprenticeships: Shaping Your Community’s Workforce”
Wednesday, July 21, 2024 2:00-3:00 pm ET
Communities across the country are turning to apprenticeship programs to build a skilled workforce. When these programs are designed to be inclusive, they can support your local organizations as they build more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplaces. In this webinar, attendees learned about the steps two communities have taken to expand opportunities for their residents (including people with disabilities) by shaping apprenticeship programs that place inclusion at the forefront. We explored:
- The Ticket into Tech apprenticeship program in San Luis Obispo County preparing tech talent, with the goal of creating head-of-household careers in the tech industry through upskilling or reskilling. This inclusive program is ahead of schedule in achieving its goal of creating 2,000 head-of-household jobs in the San Luis Obispo region by 2025.
- Café Reconcile, a model of inclusive apprenticeship in New Orleans which is focused on providing opportunities to the city’s young people – no matter their barriers – by operating a culinary apprenticeship program where an estimated 20% of participants have a disability.
Moderator
- Vinz Koller, Senior Strategist at Social Policy Research Associates (SPR): Vinz is the Senior Strategist for Capacity Building at Social Policy Research Associates. He is an expert on U.S. workforce development policy and apprenticeship system building and is the project director of the California Apprenticeship Initiative.
Panelists
- Paula Mathias-Fryer, Director of SLO Partners. Ms. Mathias-Fryer manages relationships with the business community to meet their hiring needs while creating career pathways for residents through training opportunities and apprenticeship. Prior to SLO Partners, she was a Talent Acquisition Specialist responsible for recruiting and hiring candidates in the software industry.
- Diamond Williams, New Orleans’ legendary Café Reconcile: Diamond Williams is the Education and Employment Specialist at New Orleans’ legendary Café Reconcile – where she runs an inclusive apprenticeship program that is meant to address the system of generational poverty, violence, and neglect in the New Orleans area. Reconcile’s students arrive facing a vast array of challenges, from extreme poverty and high school attrition to homelessness, violence, and participation in the juvenile justice system.