Tag Archives: apprentice

Apprenticeship Spotlight: Idaho floral business grows careers through Registered Apprenticeship

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Feb. 15, 2023
Media Contact: Gina Robison, Gina.Robison@labor.idaho.gov

Contributor: Mike Hollenbeck, American Institute for Floral Designers

Construction, technology, advanced manufacturing and a host of other industries benefit greatly from apprenticeship programs – why not include the floral industry?

Floral Artistry, a floral business in Lewiston, recently made use of a Registered Apprenticeship, a training program registered through the U.S. Department of Labor that provides paid on-the-job learning and related technical instruction.

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Idaho’s First Lady reads new children’s book to kick off Apprenticeship Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Nov. 17, 2022
Media Contact: Gina.Robison@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho First Lady Terea Little holding Booper Dreams Big children's book

Teresa Little at reading event

“Booper Dreams Big: An Almost True Story of Apprenticeship,” is a new Idaho children’s book released today as part of National Apprenticeship Week in Idaho (Nov. 14-20).

Idaho’s First Lady Teresa Little read the new children’s book to a class of third graders at Owyhee Elementary in Nampa as an early kick-off of National Apprenticeship Week. Continue reading

Apprenticeship collaboration connects Idaho health clinics with talent

Mariah Aripa holds her dental assisting apprenticeship completion certificate.

Mariah Aripa holds her dental assisting apprenticeship completion certificate. Photo courtesy of ICHCA.

Idaho’s labor market has been tight since the pandemic, particularly for specialized industries like health care.

Health clinics already face a heavy administrative burden and managing and paying for training is a big obstacle that gets in the way of staffing and talent recruitment. The Idaho Community Health Centers Association is trying to solve this problem through apprenticeship training and funding coordination. Continue reading

OPINION: Registered Apprenticeships benefit Idaho’s people, economy

Thursday, November 10, 2022

By Jani Revier, director of Idaho Department of Labor

Nov. 14-20 is National Apprenticeship Week and marks the Photo of Jani Revier, Idaho Department of Labor directorcelebration of a proven and time-honored career pathway. Right now, 236 Idaho businesses sponsor apprenticeships, with more than 1,800 participating Idahoans getting paid on the job.

Like many Americans, Idahoans have seen sharp increases in housing costs while the consumer price index has risen 8.2% in just one year. Facing these circumstances, Idaho’s workforce needs competitive job opportunities now more than ever, and the state’s employers need the labor. Continue reading

OPINION: Apprenticeships help solve Idaho’s labor challenges

Friday November 12, 2021

By Governor Brad Little

The “Now Hiring” and “Help Wanted” job postings are everywhere.

Idaho’s economy is booming, and jobs are readily available, but some employers still cannot fill jobs with the skilled workers they need.

The labor market challenges are multifaceted, but employers across the state have one thing in common – they need a pipeline of workers with industry-specific training and hands-on experience.

The good news is that through apprenticeships – a proven career pathway Idaho is strongly pursuing to build our pool of skilled workers – employers can create a sustainable talent pipeline with employees that receive extensive education and training in one of more than 1,200 occupations in Idaho.

Next week is National Apprenticeship Week. Apprenticeships offer a win-win for employees and employers.

Employees get on-the-job training and classroom instruction specifically designed for the career they choose, along with opportunities to advance. Apprentices learn while they earn a certification, gain practical experience, start working immediately, and receive built-in mentoring and support.

Employers get an immediate employee more likely to stay in the job, reducing turnover costs and improving employee retention and productivity. It is an excellent return on investment.

Idaho jumped on new resources that connect employers to apprentices.

One new program will align apprenticeship with degree programs at Idaho’s postsecondary and workforce training institutions, benefitting up to 2,000 new workers.

Another new program will connect employers with 400 Idaho youth between ages 16 and 24 in high school and career technical education programs.

Through another effort, we are expanding the number of employers enrolling in registered apprenticeships throughout the state in the health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing, and energy sectors.

We have nearly tripled the number of Idaho businesses sponsoring apprenticeships in the span of three years. Hundreds of Idaho employers have almost doubled the number of apprenticeship opportunities since just last year.

In short, all our efforts have created a pool of Idahoans who want to hone their skills to meet Idaho employers’ needs.

It’s a tight labor market right now. We will continue to do all we can to get more skilled workers into the satisfying, rewarding careers and help employers who, like all of us, want to see Idaho’s economic trajectory continue to strengthen.

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Business, Government and Education Work to Increase Idaho Apprenticeships

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Nov. 9, 2020
Media Contact: Gina Robison, Gina@Robison@labor.idaho.gov

Nov. 8-14 – National Apprenticeship Week

A team of state agencies is using more than $5.8 million in federal grants to foster growth and expansion of registered apprenticeships as a solution for Idaho businesses struggling to find a skilled workforce.

State agencies involved in the partnership include the Idaho Department of Labor (ApprenticeshipIdaho), the Idaho Workforce Development Council and the Idaho Division of Career Technical Education. Idaho employers are represented by the Idaho Business Education Council.

Registered apprenticeships provide a high-quality career path that allows employers to develop a skilled workforce customized to meet their needs.

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Innovative Program in North-Central Idaho Prepares Students for Local Manufacturing Jobs

students working on band saw

Ty Johannesen, left, and Jaiden Caviness (both from Lewiston), work together on a project using a band-saw. The two students attended training at Lewis and Clark State College over the summer.

Nezperce High School senior Joe McGuigan is one of a handful of high school students who landed a summer job with a manufacturing company after participating in an industry-based apprenticeship program. He worked for Hillco Technologies last summer, starting at $11 an hour as a summer intern, and he learned a wide variety of skill sets on the job, including driving a forklift and running machines.

There are more than 100 companies engaged in metal fabrication and manufacturing in north central Idaho – machine shops, guns and ammunition, farm equipment manufacturers and more. The workforce serving those companies is aging and nearing retirement age, and there’s a shortage of entry-level workers with the skills necessary to serve the industry.

“Manufacturing has picked up in the small communities in north central Idaho, including in Lewiston and Grangeville, and it’s tough hiring people to work in manufacturing in this area,” said Lenny Hill, McGuigan’s boss and president of Hillco Technologies.

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Idaho Apprenticeships Help Meet the Demand for Health Care Workers

Creating career pathways helps the medical industry and the state meet local workforce needs
nurse and two students at table

A Saint Alphonsus nurse explains the proper use of gloves, to Linda Akike, and another student. (Photo courtesy of College of Western Idaho)

Linda Akike came to Boise from the Republic of Congo. She always dreamed of being a nurse, so when she heard she could enroll in a program that may lead to a full-time job at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, she leaped at the chance.

Akike learned about a new pre-apprenticeship program offered by the Idaho Department of Labor and the College of Western Idaho (CWI) through the International Rescue Committee in Boise.  The CWI class offers 80 hours of instruction and training to prepare job seekers for an Environmental Services position in health care, and potentially a full-on career in the future.

The class trains people for environmental service work in a hospital and helps people like Akike, for whom English is a second language, learn English-speaking skills and health care vocabulary terms she’ll need to know.

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CodeWorks Program Prepares Students for Real-World Jobs

Photo courtesy CodeWorks

Just about everyone knows computer code runs the backend of computer systems, web sites, mobile apps and more.

When Ramsey Bland decided to apply for a 13-week immersion class at Boise CodeWorks, the only computer code he knew was the bar code on the side of a pizza box.

Bland, 23, had studied mechanical engineering at Boise State University for several years, but he couldn’t keep up with the cost of going to college full time. His job delivering pizza covered the rent, living expenses and college. It was a stretch.

When he applied for the CodeWorks immersion class, a super-intensive drill where he could learn how to write four computer languages in a little more than three months, he learned how to plan projects and solve complex problems as part of a team.

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Job Seekers Invited to Employment and Apprenticeship Fair in McCall

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: May 6, 2019
Information Contact: Julie Heidemann (208) 634-7102, ext. 3090

The Idaho Department of Labor’s McCall local office is holding a Spring Employment and Apprenticeship Fair from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, in the Idaho First Bank Community Room, 475 Deinhard Lane.

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