Narrative: III. a. 2. G.

DLLR has provided training in promising models of career pathways and awarded grants to support career pathways systems planning in various local workforce areas. With leadership from DLLR’s adult education office, Maryland also piloted the Maryland Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (MI–BEST) program and the Accelerating Connections to Employment (ACE) initiative, both of which provided accelerated, integrated learning opportunities for low–skilled jobseekers, including individuals with limited English proficiency and those with low reading, writing, and math skills. DLLR will continue to provide technical assistance through the Maryland WIOA Convening, policies, and other means to local partners in an effort to successfully implement career pathways systems. This approach requires an investment of time and resources in order to best serve businesses, as well as jobseekers. Identifying businesses in need of trained, entry–level employees is key to the success of career pathways programming. This requires the expertise of local workforce and economic development agencies. Planning for integrated academic and specific job training requires thoughtful coordination of training providers and adult education providers. Other partners must be engaged to fulfill the need for support services for individuals with barriers to employment. Businesses may provide internships and help guide curriculum development. The success of the program is measured by the percentage of participants who become employed within the specific industry for which they were trained.

The career pathways approach will require a workforce system transformation and can benefit a wide variety of participants, including low–skilled adults, high school students, disconnected youth, veterans, incumbent workers, individuals with disabilities, and other target populations. The system requires aligned and transparent educational progression with multiple entry points and clearly defined “on and off ramps.” The system warrants a source of funding to scale up and sustain initiatives, maintain the partnerships that are critical to the process, and must include tools to measure and evaluate outcomes.

The WIOA Partners are dedicated to the career pathways system as a way to further implement a systematic approach to sustainable employment solutions for Maryland’s jobseekers. To that end, WIOA Partners pledge to provide resources to establish a robust career pathways system in Maryland. Local workforce partners must address in their local plans how they intend to implement a career pathways model to address their local workforce training needs.

Recently, DLLR convened a Youth Apprenticeship Advisory Committee, a group of business, labor, CTE experts, and other stakeholders, to explore the expansion of youth apprenticeships in Maryland pursuant to Chapter 646 of the Acts of 2014, as codified in Section 11–409 of the Labor and Employment Article of the Maryland Annotated Code. The Committee issued a report to serve as a blueprint for the Maryland’s youth apprenticeship system in an effort to engage a new generation of workers and employers in Maryland.

The Committee is charged with evaluating the effectiveness of existing high school youth apprenticeship programs in other states and other countries. The Committee is further tasked with reviewing and identifying ways to implement high school youth apprenticeship programs in the State. The Committee must also review and identify means through which employers and organizations can obtain tax credits, grants, and other subsidies to support the establishment and operation of high school youth apprenticeship programs, and set targets for the number of apprenticeship opportunities for youth that the State should reach over the next three years.

As has been learned with the more traditional trade–focused Registered Apprenticeship programs, apprenticeships are a win–win for the business and the apprentice alike. Studies show that apprenticeships can and do reduce turnover costs, increase job satisfaction and increase productivity. Apprenticeships offer employees the opportunity to earn while they learn and reduce sky–rocketing costs associated with education and training necessary to compete effectively in the workforce. Also, a team from MSDE, Commerce, and DLLR identified two school jurisdictions—Frederick and Washington Counties—where youth apprenticeship programs will be piloted beginning in September 2016 with high school juniors and seniors in STEM and manufacturing careers. Legislation creating the pilot was approved by the Maryland General Assembly in 2015 as part of the State’s Economic Development and Business Climate Commission. Over the course of the next few years, DLLR hopes to build on best practices identified by this pilot to potentially expand this earn–and–learn model.

Maryland is dedicated to expanding Integrated Education and Training programming (training models that combine classroom instruction with meaningful workforce experiences), and specifically utilizing this model for the further development of apprenticeship and career pathways opportunities. These are primary tenets of our State’s strategic vision and, as such, our investments will open opportunities for Marylanders to access portable, stackable post–secondary credentials that are recognized across industry and education.