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Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) today released the following statement in advance of President Obama’s visit to Macomb Community College in Michigan, where he will announce $175 million in Department of Labor American Apprenticeship Grants to help employers, labor unions, nonprofits, local governments and educational institutions expand apprenticeships.

“We are honored to welcome the President to Michigan today to highlight the importance of a skilled workforce,” said Dingell. “Today, too many jobs are left unfilled because employers cannot find potential employees with the 21st century skills they need. The modern manufacturing industry requires well trained, highly skilled employees, and these grants will bring business and labor together to train workers for the jobs that are available. Apprenticeships are a win-win for employers and workers, and these programs will provide an important pathway into modern manufacturing careers for hundreds of Michigan residents.”

The announcement includes a $5.5 million grant for the Jobs for the Future (JFF) Next Gen IMT program, which Dingell supported in a letter to the Department of Labor. Funds will be used to enhance and expand apprenticeship opportunities in the growing Advanced Manufacturing sector and will serve 1,450 individuals in eight participating states, including Michigan. The program will utilize a competency based hybrid manufacturing apprenticeship, focused on new and incumbent entry-level workers.

Additional grant recipients include:

•    Macomb Community College – awarded a $3.9 million grant to fund Michigan Apprenticeship Program Plus (MAP+) and serve 600 apprentices in IT and manufacturing occupations.

•    Southeast Michigan Community Alliance (SEMCA) – awarded a $4 million grant to lead the Advance Michigan Center for Apprenticeship Innovation (CAI) project. The project will engage organizations focused on special populations in STEM careers and establish or expand apprenticeship programs responsive to the evolving technical needs in the high-demand, new-age automotive and transportation sectors of the Advanced Manufacturing industry. CAI will serve 853 workers in the State of Michigan.

•    UAW-Labor Employment and Training Corporation – awarded a $5 million grant to fund the UAW American Apprenticeship Initiative Program. A number of underserved workers will be assisted, including 500 job seekers and 975 incumbent workers in high skilled occupations within the Advanced Manufacturing Industry.

•    Focus: HOPE – awarded a $3 million grant to fund the Focus: HOPE American Apprenticeship Program to serve 300 apprentices in targeted occupations in the Advanced Manufacturing and IT industries.

•    Managed Career Solutions, Inc. – awarded $2.9 million for the development and implementation of new registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs in the emerging IT and health information technology industry and for the expansion of existing programs in biotechnology. The grant will serve 1,000 workers in three states, including Michigan. 

•    National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee – awarded a $4.7 million grant to fund the Pre-Apprenticeship Program (Pre-APP) to increase employment and training opportunities in targeted occupations within the electrical industry including: Electrical Engineers, Civil Engineers, and Network Administrators. The Pre-APP program proposes to serve 1000 apprentices in 5 years (200 each year) from 13 proposed electrical training centers across the United States.

•    Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board – awarded $10 million to expand IT, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Construction apprenticeships to 1,200 people in the Midwest, including in Michigan. Employers include Quicken Loans, Meridian Health, General Motors, Emerson, Building and Construction Trades Council of St. Louis and St. John Providence Health System, and Goodwill.

The American Apprenticeship Grants will help train and hire more than 34,000 new apprentices across the country in high-growth and high-tech industries while scaling up proven programs in construction, transportation, and energy over the next five years.