Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities under Title I-B
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following with respect to activities carried out under subtitle B—
b. 2. Registered Apprenticeship
Describe how the State will incorporate Registered Apprenticeship into its strategy for service design and delivery (e.g., outreach to sponsors and prospective sponsors, identifying potential participants and connecting them to apprenticeship opportunities).
Current Narrative:
CareerSource Florida Strategic Policy 2019.02.13.A.1 – Apprenticeship Policy calls for a network-wide apprenticeship strategy to be implemented by all LWDBs to develop talent pipelines for Florida employers and establish the state as a national leader in registered apprenticeship programs. This strategy also fosters strong partnerships between LWDBs, economic developers, employers, educational institutions, and other key stakeholders. This strategic policy was updated in December 2023 to establish a series of ambitious apprenticeship expansion goals to be accomplished by 2030. By positioning registered apprenticeships as a proven model that helps employers build a highly skilled workforce, education and workforce partners are breaking through systemic barriers to strengthen the state’s sector strategy initiatives.
CareerSource Florida works with the FDOE Office of Apprenticeship to identify opportunities to promote registered apprenticeship and explore education opportunities for LWDBs to engage the state apprenticeship office and its local representatives. Florida received an ApprenticeshipUSA State Expansion Grant from the USDOL to integrate registered apprenticeships within the state’s existing workforce and economic development system. As part of the grant implementation, CareerSource Florida joined forces with FloridaCommerce, the FDOE’s Office of Apprenticeship, LWDBs, industry intermediaries, and many other strategic partners to identify barriers, opportunities, and pilot models of success.
This collaboration led to the development of Apprentice Florida, which promotes registered apprenticeship, educates individuals regarding apprenticeship opportunities, assists businesses in establishing or participating in registered apprenticeships, and encourages expansion of apprenticeship into targeted sectors like Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Construction, Healthcare, Hospitality & Tourism, Information Technology, and Trade & Logistics. Key achievements include developing and maintaining the Apprentice Florida website, an EY Apprenticeship Assessment report, and ongoing interagency collaboration and information-sharing.
To build capacity and improve awareness, the apprenticeship navigator project has enabled all 24 local boards to designate apprenticeship navigators or allow staff members to engage in apprenticeship navigator functions. The apprenticeship navigator training program provides a repository of accessible tools and resources within a virtual team platform that provides a forum for ongoing support. Additionally, navigators meet monthly to discuss expansion initiatives, identify process delivery improvements, and review outreach/communications mechanisms. Technical assistance with WIOA support for apprenticeship activities is also offered to navigators on an ongoing basis.
As subject matter experts, apprenticeship navigators at LWDBs work with internal partners to identify the needs of businesses and job seekers. They also work with external partners to leverage resources that increase apprenticeship opportunities. The navigators educate themselves and their partners on local, state, and national apprenticeship funding opportunities such as grants, incentive programs, and philanthropic awards and work closely in partnership with the FDOE Office of Apprenticeship’s apprenticeship training representatives to expand apprenticeship opportunities statewide.