Agencies receive pre-apprenticeship grants

The Workforce Development Board of Southeast Missouri was one of several agencies in the state to recently receive a grant from the Missouri Office of Workforce Development as part of the Missouri Apprentice Ready initiative.

The grants of up to $50,000 will help agencies prepare individuals to enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship program.

Missouri Apprentice Ready, which launched in February, is an initiative that invests U.S. Department of Labor funds toward the development of pre-apprenticeship opportunities, supporting pathways toward apprenticeships.

Community colleges, workforce development boards, and career and technical education programs applied for funding through the grant program.

In addition to the Workforce Development Board of Southeast Missouri, other applicants awarded grant funds were the AFL-CIO Missouri Works Initiative, East Central College, the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE), the Full Employment Council, the Full Employment Council of Kansas City, Jefferson College, the Northeast Missouri Workforce Development Board, Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, the Special School District of St. Louis County and the St. Louis Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Program.

Nearly 3,400 registered apprenticeships were completed in Missouri during fiscal year 2020, more than any other state except California. Missouri has more than 13,000 active apprentices participating in more than 400 apprenticeship programs.

More information about apprenticeship programs in Missouri is available through the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development website, www.dhewd.mo.gov.

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