U.S. Approval of IPC Apprenticeships Highlights National Apprenticeship Week
By Cory Blaylock, IPC Director of Workforce Partnerships
Years in the works, IPC earned the U.S. Department of Labor’s approval for our National Program Standards of Apprenticeship on Wednesday, November 15.
The event is a major milestone as it’s the first-ever U.S. Government approval of apprenticeship standards in the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry. IPC’s standards cover two critically important occupations – electronics assemblers and printed circuit board fabricators – with more to come – and they provide a defined pathway to secure, well-paying careers in electronics manufacturing.
IPC is now authorized to register with each state’s Eligible Training Provider List, which means companies in all 50 states can begin implementing apprenticeship programs that are eligible for funding by Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) dollars.
A signing ceremony on Wednesday with Megan Baird, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Apprenticeship at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) was the highlight of a busy week at IPC, marking National Apprenticeship Week in the United States.
On Monday, IPC Senior Director of North American Government Relations Rich Cappetto and I attended an apprenticeship promotion event sponsored by the Maryland Dept. of Labor, along with employers and educators from across the state. On Tuesday, Rich and I visited the Baltimore facilities of Zentech Manufacturing to learn about their operations and workforce training programs.
On Thursday, IPC President and CEO John W. Mitchell hosted a North American Executive Forum on workforce topics with roughly 30 U.S. senior executives. The group heard from U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), a congressional leader on workforce issues, who praised the IPC initiative and spotlighted legislative efforts to expand such programs.
John Mitchell also issued a proclamation early in the week calling on IPC members to become Workforce Champions and expand workforce education programs.
On another high note, IPC reported the results of its Workforce Champions efforts over the last five years. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Jobs: Overall, the U.S. electronics industry added more than 75,000 jobs, exceeding the association’s 2018 projection by 50%.
- Credentials: More than 300,000 individuals have earned career-enhancing credentials by participating in IPC education programs and earning IPC certifications.
- Secondary and Post-Secondary Education: The IPC Education Foundation facilitated the completion of introductory courses by 4,000 college students; the exposure of 6,000 high school and college students to industry skills; and the distribution of $250,000 in scholarships and awards.
- High Schools: IPC also launched a pilot program to equip more than 200 high school students with essential skills for jobs in the electronics assembly sector. This opportunity provides rigorous training through career and technical education (CTE) programs and encourages students to enter apprenticeship programs after high school.
There are too many organizations and individuals to list here who have contributed to these achievements, but a few of them are:
- My boss, Dave Hernandez, IPC Vice President of Education, and the entire IPC Education team.
- Matthew McKenney of the Institute for American Apprenticeships, which advised IPC throughout the long process of getting our programs organized.
- The IPC Member Companies who endorsed our apprenticeship initiative to the Labor Department: ASMPT (Georgia, Massachusetts), Calumet Electronics (Michigan), Flex (Texas), Microboard (Connecticut), Out of the Box Manufacturing (Washington), TTM Technologies (California), and Zentech (Maryland). Their endorsements are a signal of interest in launching their own apprenticeship programs and demonstrate that they are truly Workforce Champions.
As John Mitchell said at the signing ceremony, “More than two-thirds of IPC’s U.S. members report that an inability to find and retain skilled workers is limiting their growth and global competitiveness. The Department of Labor’s endorsement of IPC’s apprenticeship standards will help foster a larger, more skilled, and more diverse workforce. We are excited about the positive impacts on workers, their communities, and the electronics manufacturing industry.”
IPC has long been a workforce champion because, as an industry, we cannot wait on government or depend on government to solve it for us. We have to step up ourselves. But government partners certainly help. With the approval of IPC’s National Program Standards of Apprenticeship, we’re stepping in the right direction.
For more information, please visit:
View signing ceremony recap video:
Or contact me at CoreenBlaylock@ipc.org.