Tag Archives: Education

Apprenticeship Spotlight: Hard work pays off for three machine operator graduates

Students who obtained their machine operator apprenticeship credential stand with their mentors.

Pictured left to right: Owner of High Desert Milk Karla Robinson, High Desert Milk instructor Tory Bailey, Luis Arevalo, Guillermo Martinez, Juvencio Trejo, plant manager Shawn Burton and Bob Snyder.

For student Guillermo Martinez, the Registered Apprenticeship program paved the path to his career.

“The program gave me a head start in life and helped get me ready to work 12 hour shifts. I have learned so much from the plant (High Desert Milk), and I feel I have a better chance of getting hired at other plants,” Martinez said.

The Idaho Department of Labor connects Idahoans to Registered Apprenticeship opportunities in the Gem State to expand and diversify the workforce. And the machine operator apprenticeship is graduating skilled workers in south central Idaho.

The Magic Valley area is host for multiple U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Registered Apprenticeship sponsorships. Various sponsors include the College of Southern Idaho, McCain Foods and High Desert Milk. They each have programs designed to train employees in operation maintenance for manufacturing, packaging, dehydration and use of other machines within a facility.

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Grant, funding initiatives can benefit Idaho citizens

Not all government grant programs are designed for businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions or local governments. Personal government grants are also available for individuals — Idaho citizens, including students, veterans, homeowners and remote workers, among others.

Personal government grants are usually based on supply of available funding and eligibility requirements. These grants are intended to provide a meaningful benefit to the local economy by creating opportunity, making housing more affordable, educating workers and raising wages.

Currently, more jobs exist than there are job seekers looking for work. Even among active job seekers, job seekers may not have the requisite skills to fill these positions. Grant program funding that supports education and training benefit both employers and job seekers.

Personal education grants

With personal education grants, people can enhance their job skills while contributing to a larger supply of candidates for Idaho’s talent pool. Idaho Launch is one such program, providing funds to promote wider accessibility to training for Idahoans — from high school graduates to mid-career workers.

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8th Grade Career Explorations curriculum now teaches Idaho students about apprenticeship

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Jan. 11, 2023
Media Contact: Jolene.Montoya@idla.k12.id.us

Idaho students will be able to take the updated 8th Grade Career Explorations course containing a brand-new apprenticeship lesson starting this spring.

The Idaho Digital Learning Alliance and the Idaho Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship Idaho team have created a new online lesson to meet the needs of the state’s students, businesses and industry sectors. The new class is the first collaboration of its kind between government, businesses and educators in promoting the occupational success of Idaho’s youth.

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Serve Idaho announces AmeriCorps grant funding opportunity

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Jan. 5, 2023
Media Contact: Kim Empey, Kimberly.Empey@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho nonprofit, educational, community and faith-based organizations, Indian tribes and local governments are eligible for federal funding for community service projects through AmeriCorps.

Interested organizations have until Feb. 10 to submit an application for a grant to Serve Idaho, the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism. A notice of intent to apply for a grant must be filed by Jan. 13 at 4 p.m. MST. A mandatory technical assistance call will be held Jan. 17 at 11 a.m. MST.

Organizations interested in applying must identify their community need, then design and implement an AmeriCorps program that leverages people power as a solution. Organizations receiving funds are responsible for recruiting, training and managing AmeriCorps members to deliver those services.

Serve Idaho and AmeriCorps provide funding for the following focus areas: disaster services, economic opportunity, education, environmental stewardship, healthy futures, veterans and military families.

Grant awards vary in amount based on the size, complexity and cost of running an AmeriCorps program.

Learn more about this grant opportunity at https://serve.idaho.gov/grantsfunding/.

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In 2021, AmeriCorps committed more than $5.2 million to support Idaho communities through AmeriCorps initiatives. This federal investment leveraged more than $1.2 million in other resources to strengthen community impact, build local support and increase return on taxpayer dollars.

Serve Idaho is a division of the Idaho Department of Labor and the state’s AmeriCorps programs is administered by the Serve Idaho Commission. Serve Idaho is funded in part by the federal agency AmeriCorps and the Idaho Department of Labor.

For information about Serve Idaho and AmeriCorps service opportunities visit serveidaho.gov

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Serve Idaho is supported by AmeriCorps. A total of $4,519,228, or 61%, of the program is financed with federal funds, and $2,893,430, or 39%, is funded by local support.

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 →

Idaho Labor Seeks Youth in Need of Employment, Career, Education Support

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Nov. 22, 2021
Media Contact: Georgia Smith, georgia.smith@labor.idaho.gov

Out-of-school youth between ages 16 and 24 now have numerous opportunities to learn new skills and increase their earnings through apprenticeships, on-the-job and vocational training and much more thanks to a federal program managed by the Idaho Department of Labor.

“Qualified individuals have so many options with this program,” said Keith Whiting, career planner.

We can open doors to new skills, job opportunities and better pay!Hundreds of young people are already benefitting from the program, with more than 1,000 served during the past two years. The state of Idaho receives annual funding – around $2.8 million in 2021 – in Idaho Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds to offer these services.

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CWI’s Partnership with Idaho Job Corps Helps Students Thrive

The following article was first published April 2, 2021, on the College of Western Idaho website.

College of Western Idaho (CWI) began an exciting partnership with the Idaho Department of Labor in November 2019 to deliver educational services to Idaho Job Corps students.

Idaho Job Corps welding student, Ben Still

Idaho Job Corps serves students, 16-24 years old, by connecting them to skills training and employment. Students can earn a high school diploma or GED while training in CWI classes that prepare students to work in various industries, including welding, construction, and the medical field.

On March 18, CWI and Idaho Job Corps staff were pleased to present a certificate of completion to the first group of students finishing their welding training.

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Idaho Job Corps to Host Community Night Nov. 4

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 29, 2020
Media Contact: Tina Polishchuk, Tina.Polishchuk@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho youth between ages 16-24 who are looking for skills training and a job are invited to attend a Nov. 4 dinner at the Idaho Centennial Job Corps campus in Nampa and are encouraged to bring someone with them.

“Everyone knows someone who can benefit from the Idaho Job Corps program,” said Courtney Hudnall, student placement supervisor.

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Idaho Teens Earn National Volunteer Award

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Feb. 26, 2020
Information Contact: Renee Bade, (208) 332-3578 ext. 4061

Idaho teens Lilian Smith of Coeur d’ Alene and Kaleb Chatelain of Ammon were named Idaho’s top two youth volunteers of 2020 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.  The award program, in its 25th year, honors young people in each state for outstanding acts of volunteerism.

Smith and Chatelain will be awarded $1,000 each, an engraved medallion and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for four days of national recognition events.

Smith, 17, a junior at Coeur d’ Alene High School, co-founded a nonprofit that has organized competitive math teams and/or peer mentoring math programs at 12 local schools over the past three years. When Lilian was in fifth grade, she joined a math team and loved it. But “I knew that many kids in my community, especially at schools that serve low-income families, did not have this opportunity,” she said. So three years ago, Lilian outlined a program that could encourage kids to have fun with STEM subjects while improving their math and critical thinking skills.

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Idaho Job Corps Seeks Youth with Barriers to Education, Employment

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Feb. 4, 2020
Information Contact: Tina Polishchuk, (208) 442-4500

Program expands to colleges in Twin Falls, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene

Idaho Job Corps Center staff are looking for income-eligible candidates to fill 70 openings at the state-run facility in Nampa. Idahoans between the ages of 16–24 who are interested in the program, designed to help low-income youth obtain higher education and on-the-job training, should call the center or take a campus tour offered every Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Sixty-eight students are enrolled and receiving services. Some are earning their high school diploma or a GED. Others are enrolled as college students at College of Western Idaho and working toward careers in high-growth industries such as nurses, pharmacy techs, welders, information technology specialists, carpenters, HVAC technicians, electricians, engineers and more.

“We’re looking for young Idahoans who are facing barriers to education and employment,” said Idaho Department of Labor Director Jani Revier. “Our goal is to remove those barriers, put people on a solid career path, find them technical training and make sure they have a job and an hourly living wage of at least $16 by the time they graduate.”

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