by Scott McClallen
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) has been awarded a $10 million federal grant to support the state’s registered apprenticeship expansion efforts.
“As we put Michigan back to work, Registered Apprenticeship programs offer on-ramps to high-demand, high-skill careers, and in Michigan we have committed to expanding these educational opportunities to ensure more Michiganders can get good-paying jobs,” Whitmer said in a statement.
“Increasing access to education and training opportunities will help us achieve our 60 by 30 goal to have 60% of Michigan’s adult with post-secondary education or skills training by 2030, improve the quality of life and help Michiganders secure good-paying jobs, and ensure businesses have the workforce they need to succeed and grow our economy.”
Grant funds will be used to establish the Michigan Statewide Targeted Apprenticeship Inclusion & Readiness System (MiSTAIRS) a partnership of LEO, the Michigan Works! network, Michigan Career & Technical Institute, Michigan Association of Community and Adult Education, and the Access to Apprenticeship Consortium.
MiSTAIRS will focus on those most severely impacted by COVID-19 and expand registered apprenticeship opportunities for women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, and those without a high school equivalency diploma or equivalent.
MiSTAIRS will enable more than 1,640 workers to enroll in Registered Apprenticeship programs over four years in sectors including advanced manufacturing, construction, energy, healthcare, information technology, and mobility.
Michigan was one of 15 states to receive a State Apprenticeship Equity, Expansion and Innovation grant award and one of five states to receive a maximum $10 million award from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Despite some economic recovery, Michigan is still 322,000 jobs under pre-pandemic numbers in Feb. 2020.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi.
Photo “Michigan worker” by Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
