Examining apprenticeship programs for low-income youth
Young people are facing increasing challenges to self-sufficiency entering adulthood, which also poses a challenge for organizations that serve youth and for businesses facing labor shortages and skills gaps. Registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs) can help address labor shortages and offer young people an opportunity to enter the workforce through a paid, facilitated program.
Hosts Lindsay Bell and Jack Murphy, of ICF’s Workforce Innovations, Preparedness, and Poverty Solutions (WIPPS) portfolio, are joined by WIPPS Project Director and Cybersecurity Youth Apprenticeship Initiative (CYAI) coach, Mary Roberto, and Ian McMahon, Director of the Colorado Division of Economic and Workforce Support. Together, they discuss how workforce development and youth human services systems can work together to expand access to high quality jobs for low-income youth through RAPs.
Topics covered in this episode include:
- What programs and services exist to connect low-income youth to employment and training.
- Colorado Department of Human Services’ collaborative efforts to develop youth employment and training programs through multi-sector partnerships.
- How RAPs fit into the youth services ecosystem.
- Making programs accessible and appealing to youth of various backgrounds.
- Barriers to self-sufficiency and what services exist to address them.
- Successful collaboration between human services and workforce development programs.