Governor Terry McAuliffe announced Thursday that the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) is accepting applications from employers interested in accessing state funds to offset training costs for registered apprentices in select occupations including: information technology, cyber security, and professional and business services. DOLI is also accepting applications from state government agencies for funding to support registered apprenticeships for state government employees.
The Registered Apprenticeship Related Instruction Incentive Program provides up to $1,000 per year per registered apprentice for up to 10 registered apprentices, or $10,000 per company/sponsor. DOLI has launched a new resource page in support of Governor McAuliffe’s Executive Order 49, “Expanding Registered Apprenticeships in Virginia”, which provides interested organizations with information about this new incentive program. Employers can also access information on additional workforce programs and funding sources that can help them grow their workforce through apprenticeship programs, including those available through one of Virginia’s One Stop Career Centers.
Speaking about the announcement, Governor McAuliffe said, “I am committed to providing Virginia’s businesses and industries with a highly skilled workforce, and we know that registered apprenticeships, with their combination of on the job training and classroom instruction, produce highly skilled and loyal employees. I hope companies with a need for technology workers or to improve the skills of their current technology workforce will consider registered apprenticeships as a workforce solution, and, in the process, access state funds to support incumbent worker training.”
“Apprenticeships are an effective strategy for a business or consortium of businesses to grow their own highly skilled workforce and future leaders and a unique opportunity for employees to gain both work experience and education,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones. “I am hopeful that the new fiscal incentive the Commonwealth is offering employers to stand up apprenticeships in technology and business occupations will eventually produce as many highly skilled apprentices in IT and Cyber Security as we have today in advanced manufacturing.”
Virginia Registered Apprenticeship is a training system that produces highly skilled workers to meet the demands of employers competing in a global economy, through a combination of on-the-job training and theoretical classroom instruction. It is a “win-win” approach to workforce development for employers and employees to build a new Virginia Economy.
Administered by DOLI, Registered Apprenticeship combines on-the-job learning and apprenticeship-related instruction, with the latter often delivered by a community college or career and technical education center.
Additional information may be obtained by contacting Bev Donati, Director of Registered Apprenticeship DOLI, at (804) 225-4362, or [email protected].
The new Registered Apprenticeship web page can be found at http://www.doli.virginia.gov/apprenticeship/sponsors_occupations_2016.html.
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