National Skills Coalition and New America to Host 2017 Apprenticeship: Forward Conference

Following several years of expanded support from state, federal, business, and philanthropic leaders, apprenticeships are growing and innovating in unprecedented ways.  Nevertheless, the work of expanding apprenticeship in this country, diversifying the range of youth and working adults who have access to it (as well as the types of companies that might sponsor it) has just begun.

To continue this momentum, National Skills Coalition and New America have teamed up with leading national organizations like the National Fund and other to launch the Apprenticeship: Forward Conference.  The event is slated to take place May 4-5 2017 Washington, DC.  It was designed in collaboration with a number of national foundations who have taken the lead in supporting this new attention to apprenticeship.

The two-day conference will draw on stakeholders from across the apprenticeship system – including industry associations and employers; unions and labor-management partnerships; community-based organizations; community colleges; high schools; and workforce boards—as well as policymakers from the new [xx] Administration, the 115th Congress, and state governments from throughout the country.

The event will focus on three critical challenges facing the expansion of U.S. apprenticeship:  increasing industry engagement across a range of sectors and firms; addressing equity while diversifying the apprenticeship pipeline; and designing and implementing new public policies that can take apprenticeship to scale.  Apprenticeship Forward! will feature engaging plenaries and breakout panels, as well as interactive discussions between attendees about their apprenticeship efforts within specific industries and well as with specific groups of students and prospective workers

Conference participants will work to

• Sustain the momentum of a broad range of apprenticeship investment and interest through to the next Administration and new Congress;

• Provide the opportunities to new and existing stakeholders in the apprenticeship field to hear from experts;
• Facilitate peer learning among stakeholders in the same industries, working to engage underrepresented populations, and advocating for public policies to support this work; and
• Strengthen networks at both the state and federal levels, building on existing strengths and redefining the apprenticeship field.

Registration will open in January 2017. Apprenticeship: Forward will be hosted at the Washington Hilton Hotel.

Please mark your calendar and join us this May in Washington, DC!