FASTPORT will expand its Registered Apprenticeship support to all industries in its new partnership with Safal Partners to help lead an endeavor through the U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL) Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance (TA) Center of Excellence on Strategic Partnerships and System Alignment.

Under Safal Partners’ leadership the Center will support increased use of registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs) as a key workforce development program for employers nationwide. Work will include increasing integration of RAPs in the nation’s workforce system and leveraging Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) and other federal funding; improving alignment with state education, workforce systems and RA systems; increasing partnership building across industry, education and workforce systems; and informing new policies or programs to accelerate adoption of RAPs.

“The American workforce is undergoing seismic transformation,” noted Mukta Pandit President and Founder of Safal Partners. “Employers need the proven strategy that apprenticeship represents to build the skilled, knowledgeable talent pipelines they need. However, that will take better alignment of key stakeholders – federal and state leadership, workforce systems, secondary- and post-secondary education and training providers. We look forward to leading this Center’s work and building on over a decade of focused investment USDOL has made to drive true systems change.”

“We are proud and stand ready to provide industry-recognized and proven technical support to employers across all industries and occupations to grow the incredible mobilizing power of Registered Apprenticeships for both industry leadership and the growing talent that will help our nation continue to flourish and compete, stated FASTPORT’s Executive Director of Apprenticeship.

The Center is one of four new Centers of Excellence developed by USDOL as part of the department’s work to expand and modernize TA available within the registered apprenticeship system. The three others are: Diversity and Inclusion Center; Apprenticeship Occupations and Standards Center; and Data and Performance and Best Practices Center.

Through the 4-year, $7 million grant Safal will lead a consortium of nationally-recognized partners including the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP), the Coalition for Adult Basic Education (COABE), the National Disability Institute, FASTPORT, and the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), as well as state leaders including the California Workforce Association, Iowa Workforce Development, Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, Missouri Workforce Development Board, and North Carolina Association of Workforce Development Boards.

The USDOL announcement of the Centers of Excellence can be found here: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20210622.