Community college leaders outlined several innovative apprenticeship models at the American Association of Community Colleges' Workforce Development Institute last week. In South Carolina, Midlands Technical College (MTC) has worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield to develop a nontraditional, customized apprenticeship program to train network support technicians, web systems programmers and web systems analysts. 

 

Blue Cross, the largest employer in the region “approached us because they had many unfilled IT positions and couldn’t find qualified people for those jobs,” said Amy Scully, director of business solutions at MTC.

 

“They are taking a strategic approach to grow their own workforce,” Scully said. 

The company hires college graduates, then sends them to MTC for training in industry-specific skills and credentials. What sold Blue Cross on the concept was the idea that it was theirs to customize, she said.

 

Eight people are currently in the four-year program, which also includes on-site mentoring and on-the-job training. Scully noted that a state initiative, called Apprenticeship Carolina, supports these types of programs by registering apprenticeship consultants. Registered companies can claim a $1,000 annual tax credit for each apprentice.

 

In Texas, the new Engineering and Manufacturing Institute at the Lone Star College System’s Corporate College provides a hub for training programs for employees in the oil and gas, alternative energy and automated manufacturing industries.

 

To get buy-in from college leaders to support the institute, Linda Head, the corporate college’s vice chancellor of workforce development, took them on a field trip to a museum on natural sciences to educate them on how oil and gas is produced.

 

The program, which can run from two to four years, begins with a state-funded six or eight-week pre-apprenticeship course, following a pre-assessment of students. As the training continues, students are hired for appropriate jobs and are guaranteed a raise as they complete each level. 

 

 

The Employ Florida Banner Center for Advanced Manufacturing, based at Polk State Corporate College (PSCC), was developed six years ago by a consortium of community colleges, regional manufacturer associations and workforce development boards. It supports a variety of training and apprenticeship programs.

 

In one example, the Mosaic fertilizer company turned to the Banner Center to train new multi-skilled maintenance workers to offset an impending wave of retiring employees. 

 

“They couldn’t find enough qualified people, so we worked with them to create an apprenticeship program,” said Eric Roe, director of applied technology at PSCC. 

 

Apprentices take competency-based training courses at the center twice a week for two years, while spending three days a week in the field for on-the-job training. There are two cohorts, one in electrical instrumentation and automation and one in mechanic/millwright skills with 16 students in each group.

 

Both cohorts start together with combined training in manufacturing fundamentals and maintenance fundamentals, then they split up for courses in core competencies, craft competencies and advanced customizable topics, Roe said. Students earn a series of credentials during the process.

 

Florida has a statewide articulation agreement, he said, that awards 15 credit hours to apprentices, which encourages people to continue their education and earn an associate degree.