Office of Workforce Development awards grants to pre-apprenticeship programs throughout Missouri

     The Missouri Office of Workforce Development (OWD) recently released a list of pre-apprenticeship programs that will be receiving grants of up to $50,000 as part of the Missouri Apprentice Ready initiative.
     Pre-apprenticeship is a program or set of services designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in a Registered Apprenticeship program.
     Missouri Apprentice Ready, which launched in February 2021, is an initiative that invests U.S. Department of Labor funds toward the development of pre-apprenticeship opportunities,  supporting pathways to Registered Apprenticeships.
     Community colleges, local workforce development boards, and career and technical education programs submitted proposals to apply for the grant funding.   Approximately $1 million in federal funds will be disbursed among these programs, serving roughly 350 potential pre-apprentices across 40 different occupations.   
    The following applicants have been awarded grants:
AFLCIO Missouri Works Initiative
East Central College
SLATE
Full Employment Council
Jefferson College
Northeast Missouri Workforce Development Board
Metropolitan Community College
Special School District of St. Louis County – Adult Technical Education Department – STL Training
St Louis Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Program
Workforce Development Board of Southeast Missouri
     The goal of Missouri Apprentice Ready is to create new pre-apprenticeship programs, increase the diversity of Registered Apprenticeships, and increase active apprentices in existing programs through pre-apprenticeship.
     Missouri saw 3,388 Registered Apprenticeships completed in FY 2020, more than any other state except California. Missouri has more than 13,000 active apprentices participating in more than 400 programs.
 Learn more about Apprenticeship Missouri at https://dhewd.mo.gov/apprenticeship_missouri.php.