Narrative: b. 2.

Registered Apprenticeship: Utilization of registered apprenticeship will continue to be a strategic priority for the State and will be emphasized as a required component of local area service delivery design. The Maine Apprenticeship Program has worked closely with high—growth industry sectors in Maine, such as health care, and have been instrumental in establishing career pathway approaches for low wage high de—mand occupations, such as Certified Nurse Assistant, that provide an upward mobility path. These ap—proaches have included blending of resources from the Maine Apprenticeship Program tuition assistance funds, Title 1—B programs, the Competitive Skills Scholarship Program and the industry partners. The pro—grams have also incorporated integrated education training modules that link work readiness, occupational skills, and academic skill components into a single cohesive program that has been co—designed by the em—ployer. This type of approach has been promoted as a key approach in the Job—Driven and Sector—Partnership National Dislocated Worker Grants Maine has received. Apprenticeship sponsors are invited to list their programs on the Eligible Training Provider List; however, many of Maine’s apprenticeship sponsors are very small businesses and prefer to stay off the list when they are not actively recruiting new ap—prentices. As identified in the strategic portion of this plan, new approaches will be promoted using the Title I—B pro—gram funds, including upskill/backfill that will require utilization of resources that leverage employer funds and that include use of WIOA formula funds identified for incumbent worker training. Follow—up services will also be stressed, as an integral component of a participant’s service plan, to ensure proposed per—formance objectives will be met for those individuals who entered the program with significant barriers to employment and others who would benefit from follow—up services.