[Senate Hearing 115-833]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 115-833
MODERNIZING APPRENTICESHIPS
TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES
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HEARING
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
EXAMINING MODERNIZING APPRENTICESHIPS TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES
__________
JULY 26, 2018
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Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
31-124 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020
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COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee, Chairman
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming PATTY MURRAY, Washington
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont
JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania
RAND PAUL, Kentucky MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado
SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut
TODD YOUNG, Indiana ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah TIM KAINE, Virginia
PAT ROBERTS, Kansas MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska TINA SMITH, Minnesota
TIM SCOTT, South Carolina DOUG JONES, Alabama
David P. Cleary, Republican Staff Director
Lindsey Ward Seidman, Republican Deputy Staff Director
Evan Schatz, Democratic Staff Director
John Righter, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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STATEMENTS
THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2018
Page
Committee Members
Alexander, Hon. Lamar, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions, Opening statement......................... 1
Murray, Hon. Patty, Ranking Member, a U.S. Senator from the State
of Washington, Opening statement............................... 3
Witnesses
King, Montez, Executive Director, National Institute for
Metalworking Skills, Fairfax, VA............................... 5
Prepared statement........................................... 7
Summary statement............................................ 66
Holland, Michael, Chief Operating Officer, Marek, Houston, TX.... 66
Prepared statement........................................... 68
Summary statement............................................ 70
Vito, Sandi, Executive Director, 1199 SEIU Training and
Employment Funds, New York, NY................................. 71
Prepared statement........................................... 73
Summary statement............................................ 76
Johnson, Glenn, Workforce Development Leader, BASF Corporation,
Houston, TX.................................................... 77
Prepared statement........................................... 79
Summary statement............................................ 84
MODERNIZING APPRENTICESHIPS
TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES
Thursday, July 26, 2018
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:03 a.m. in
room SD-430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Lamar
Alexander, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Alexander [presiding], Isakson, Cassidy,
Young, Scott, Murray, Casey, Bennet, Baldwin, Warren, Kaine,
Hassan, Smith, and Jones.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ALEXANDER
The Chairman. The Senate Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions will please come to order.
Senator Murray and I will each have an opening statement. I
will introduce the witnesses and then we will hear from the
witnesses. Senators will each have 5 minutes to ask questions.
We are here today to explore ways to modernize
apprenticeships, which are training programs that allow workers
to earn and learn at the same time.
Let me tell you the story of a couple of hypothetical
Tennesseans who are interested in earning money while they
learn job skills.
A high school senior, let us call him Jason from Nashville,
has decided he wants to be an electrician. Jason might join a
middle Tennessee electrical contractor as an apprentice in a
federally registered program. He would learn the skills he
needed on the job while also receiving technical instruction in
the classroom.
At the end of the apprenticeship, Jason would have a
certificate that demonstrates that he has the skills to be a
successful electrician, such as safely running wire, and he
could use that certificate to find work in Nashville or
anywhere else around the country.
Or, take Samantha from Memphis. While taking classes at a
local community college, she hears about an apprenticeship
program started by a local insurance firm to train insurance
claims handlers.
Even though it was not registered with the Department of
Labor, the program was designed by industry experts to help
Samantha receive the skills she would need to be successful in
the insurance industry, such as analytical and investigatory
skills. Just like Jason, Samantha would be able to get the
instruction and skills she needs while earning money at the
same time.
For millions of Americans who are looking for ways to
improve their skills, make a good wage, and live the American
Dream, high quality apprenticeship programs, whether federally
registered or not, are a smart path forward.
The United States is in the midst of the best economy in 18
years. In one month this year, the unemployment rate fell as
low as it has been since 1969, nearly half a century ago.
In recent months, we have seen the lowest rate of African
American unemployment since the Federal Government started
keeping track of unemployment.
In this booming economy, still there are 6.6 million job
openings, and what I hear from Tennessee employers is that they
need more skilled workers.
The shortage of skilled workers is something the Trump
administration has been actively working on, and just last week
announced an executive order aimed at training more Americans
for these jobs.
Congress is doing our part. On Monday, the Senate passed an
update to the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which
this Committee worked on, a nearly $1.2 billion Federal program
of grants to states that help fund Career and Technical
Education programs at high schools and community colleges. And
states spend nearly 10 times that much each year on Career and
Technical Education.
That bill is on its way to the President's desk, because
the House passed it yesterday.
A second way for workers to learn new skills is what we are
looking at today: apprenticeships. Apprenticeships have been
around since the Middle Ages. In America, Paul Revere learned
the family silversmith business as an apprentice and Elvis
Presley apprenticed as an electrician before he recorded
``Jailhouse Rock.''
In 2017, the United States had approximately 533,000
apprentices in federally Registered Apprenticeship programs,
training to become electricians, carpenters, craft laborers, or
plumbers.
In 1937, Congress created these federally Registered
Apprenticeships, which means they are certified by the
Department of Labor or state agencies as meeting certain
requirements.
Today, federally Registered Apprenticeships are especially
concentrated in construction and manufacturing, and work well
for many employers and workers.
A federally Registered Apprenticeship program must meet a
number of prescriptive requirements. For example, the number of
experienced workers to apprentices.
Another type of apprenticeship is the ``Industry Recognized
Apprenticeship,'' which has other characteristics. They are an
alternative to federally Registered Apprenticeships, with more
flexible requirements developed by industry and less
administrative tape.
The requirements for a federally Registered Apprenticeship
may not meet the needs of every workforce. Growing industries,
such as health, finance, and information technology, have not
historically harnessed the potential of apprenticeships, and
are facing a shortage of skilled workers.
The hope is that with a modernized approach to
apprenticeships, industries that were not around when Paul
Revere was training to be a silversmith, or even when Elvis was
learning to be an electrician, would be able to start
apprenticeship programs.
Senator Murray.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MURRAY
Senator Murray. Well, thank you, Chairman Alexander.
I want to thank all of our witnesses for being here today,
especially Ms. Sandi Vito from the 1199 SEIU Training and
Employment Funds.
Ms. Vito, I look forward to hearing from you on how your
program is helping workers in the health care sector get the
training and skills they need to succeed in our changing
economy. And about the impact, in many cases negative, that
some of this Administration's proposals would have on workers,
and businesses, and our economy.
As we have talked about in this Committee before, our
economy continues to grow and change with new technologies and
industries. Unfortunately, too many workers, and businesses,
and local communities are still struggling.
Workers are still struggling to find good paying jobs to
support their families. Businesses are still struggling to find
workers with the skills and training to do in-demand jobs. And
as a result, local communities across the country are still
struggling to adapt and modernize in a 21st century economy.
It is clear there is a lot of work that needs to be done to
fill the skills gap in this country. So I am really pleased we
are having this hearing today.
But instead of reinventing the wheel of workforce training,
I think it is important to highlight what is working in our
Nation's job training programs. Registered Apprenticeships have
long been considered the gold standard of workforce training.
They give workers structured, on the job training focused
on in-demand skills and competencies needed in the occupation
with nationally recognized credentials employers can trust.
They guarantee workers are able to advance their careers and
that their pay increases with their skills and training.
There is a lot working in Registered Apprenticeships. That
is thanks, in large part, to the leadership unions have taken
for almost a century in ensuring these workforce training
programs are high quality, while protecting workers.
For example, the building trade unions are the largest
providers of registered apprenticeships in the United States,
investing over $1 billion a year in training skilled workers in
the construction industry at over 1,600 training sites around
the country.
As our economy changes, and industries and technologies
advance, we should be looking for ways to mirror what the
building trades are doing to other sectors of our economy.
I hope today instead of getting distracted by shiny, new
programs that are, unfortunately, set up to be low quality or
unaccountable or ineffective, we should focus on strengthening
and modernizing our current Registered Apprenticeship programs.
There are a number of steps we can take to achieve this
goal:
First, we should work to increase the historically
bipartisan investments and resources for apprenticeship
programs, both in traditional and in new industries.
I was proud to work with Senator Isakson and others in 2014
to pass the bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act. I am hoping we can keep working together to build on that
to support a full range of high quality workforce training
programs, Registered Apprenticeships included.
Second, we should find ways to update current
apprenticeship programs to support workers and businesses in
new fields, especially in growing industries with clear paths
to the middle class.
Finally, we do need to support and encourage more
intermediaries that create partnerships among employers, and
educators, and workers to create high quality apprenticeship
programs that benefit everyone. Ms. Vito, your SEIU Training
and Education Funds are a perfect example of that.
One recent study found that one-fifth of all new jobs are
going to be in the health care sector. So I look forward today
to hearing how your Training Fund partners with hospitals and
employers around the country, and supports nurses and other
health care professionals with the training and skills they
need to advance in their careers and meet the growing need for
skilled workers in that field.
If we do these things, there is no need to have
duplicative, confusing, low quality programs that do not
protect workers or provide them with the full range of skills
to succeed at any job in their field, not just the one they are
currently in.
Now unfortunately, it seems President Trump does not agree
with this. He is more interested in getting credit, it seems,
at flashy executive order signings on television than helping
our workers and businesses actually succeed.
If you look at what he is actually trying to do, it is
clear why this is a bad idea. His proposals would actually:
Weaken and water down our current Registered Apprenticeship
programs in a way that would weaken worker protections;
Remove the focus of equity and equal opportunity;
Lower the quality of credentials and training; and,
Provide taxpayer dollars to unaccountable organizations,
including for profit colleges and corporations, without any
quality assurance or real accountability.
If he were serious about job training, he would stop
consistently proposing to cut the funding for workforce
training programs, including Registered Apprenticeships and the
bipartisan Work Force and Innovation Opportunity Act and,
instead, work with us to improve and modernize the Registered
Apprenticeship programs that we do have now.
I hope this Committee will reject those misguided
proposals. I hope that this Committee can work together, just
as we did to reauthorize the Perkins and Technical Education
Act, to reject the partisan ideology, and really work together
to improve workforce training and Registered Apprenticeships.
Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Murray.
We welcome each of our witnesses. If you could summarize
your remarks in 5 minutes or so, that would give the Senators
time to have a conversation with you.
The first witness we will hear from today is Montez King.
Mr. King is the Executive Director for the National Institute
for Metalworking Skills in Fairfax, Virginia.
He began his career as a machinist's apprenticeship at
Teledyne Energy Systems, and now works to develop national
standards and competency-based credentials in the manufacturing
trades.
Michael Holland is the Chief Operating Officer for MAREK, a
construction firm with locations across Texas, as well as
Atlanta, Georgia, and Nashville.
Mr. Holland serves as a Board Member and past President of
the Associated Builders and Contractors trade association,
Houston Chapter.
Third, we have Sandi Vito. Ms. Vito is the Executive
Director of the 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds in New
York City. Her experience includes serving as Secretary of the
Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, and that
Department's Deputy Secretary for Workforce Development.
Our fourth witness today is Glenn Johnson from Houston,
Texas. He is the Workforce Development Leader for the BASF
Corporation, a chemical manufacturer with more than 15,000
employees in 148 locations in the United States, including two
in Tennessee.
Welcome, again, to all of our witnesses.
Mr. King, please begin your testimony.
STATEMENT OF MONTEZ KING, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL
INSTITUTE FOR METALWORKING SKILLS, FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
Mr. King. Good morning.
My name is Montez King and I am the Executive Director of
NIMS, the National Institute for Metalworking Skills. We
develop skill standards, credentials, and training frameworks
for advanced manufacturing and related industries.
I want to thank Senator Alexander, and Senator Murray, and
the Senate HELP Committee for having me today to talk about a
topic that is very close to me.
I was honored to serve on Secretary Acosta's Task Force for
Apprenticeship Expansion, charged with identifying strategies
to expand apprenticeships. Our work together culminated in a
recently released report that includes recommendations on how
to bring apprenticeships into the 21st century and ensure
widespread access and utility.
Now, apprenticeship in its basic form really works. I think
all of us can agree to that, but the Registered Apprenticeship
system has barely changed since it was established in the
1930's and is burdened by rules and restrictions. Because of
this prescriptive nature, it is sometimes unappealing to
companies.
But what if there was an alternative? What if a new model
of apprenticeship recognized and encouraged innovation and
creativity?
This alternative is coming to fruition through the
Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program, also known as IRAP.
This new model recognizes that you do not grow something by
creating more rules, but by creating an environment of
innovation and excellence, and offering greater flexibility to
both employers and apprentices.
Perhaps the best way for me to describe the differences
between the two models is through a metaphor of LEGO blocks.
[Chart.]
Mr. King. On the right of me, I have the IRAP model. This
is an alternative. To my left, I have the registered model.
To the right, this model is a platform that uses different
LEGO blocks to build a house. Rather than rules and
restrictions, IRAP is a set of quality metrics. Each LEGO block
is a quality metric to measure quality. The companies can use
these metrics to design and build their program specific to
their needs.
On the registered side, this model does not give that much
flexibility. Instead, it is a LEGO house that is built already.
It is unable to meet the needs of every company, maybe some
companies, but not every company. Companies must conform to the
limitations within the house.
For example, we are currently working with Raytheon's
Missile Systems Division to launch an apprenticeship program,
and this design uses quality metrics included in the IRAP
model, but it exercises creativity and ingenuity that cannot be
implemented within the rules and restrictions of the Registered
Apprenticeship. The existing house just does not work.
This design is revolutionizing the culture of Raytheon and
is accelerating learning at a velocity parallel to the
innovative technologies of their organization. Innovation and
technologies require innovation in training.
Appendix B of my written testimony provides more details of
Raytheon's design, but here is an example of the cultural
change that is taking place within the organization.
Prior to implementing this design, I asked Raytheon's
leadership the following questions. How many machinists do you
employ? The answer was, ``Roughly 500.'' How many of those
machinists are apprentices? The answer was, ``Maybe 15.''
Here are the answers to the same questions after
implementing this new design. How many machinists do you
employ? It was the same, ``Roughly 500.'' How many of those
machinists are apprentices? The answer changed, ``Every
machinist in our organization is an apprentice. Even our
support staff can tap in and out of the apprenticeship program
at will.''
A salesperson or an estimator can tap into their
apprenticeship program to perform their jobs better. You see,
innovation is the real driver of expansion, not rules and
restrictions.
Raytheon's apprenticeship design is just one example of how
an Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program can be applied.
There is truly limitless potential.
Again, apprenticeship works, but we must allow innovation
and creativity.
I want to thank you for your time and I welcome you for
questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. King follows:]
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[summary statement of montez king]
Apprenticeship in its basic form has long been a staple of
workforce preparation in this country. Its core components like blended
learning and mentorship make it a successful work and learn model,
providing an alternative to traditional, costly education pathways for
individuals to access good-paying jobs. The Registered Apprenticeship
system we have today is burdened by rules and restrictions and
counterproductive to our Nation's economic imperative to innovate and
evolve. The system pushes businesses into a ``one size fits all'' box,
is not able to easily adapt to changes in industry, and is unattractive
to individuals who may look to programs like apprenticeships to launch
their careers and seek economic betterment through more flexible
education opportunities. Because of the proscriptive nature of the
Registered Apprenticeship, it is proving to be an unappealing
proposition for companies and prospective recruits, and has limited
applicability in new and emerging business sectors.
But there is a new industry-recognized model of apprenticeship on
the horizon that recognizes and encourages innovation and creativity,
and will open work and learn opportunities for a diverse range of
occupations and job levels. This new industry-driven model is the
Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program, a model described in the
final report of the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion as the
vehicle for remodeling and expanding apprenticeship to meet the needs
of the modern economy. This new model recognizes that you don't grow
something by creating more rules, but by creating an environment of
innovation and excellence. Through the Industry-Recognized
Apprenticeship platform, companies can build their own customized
apprenticeship, designing work and learn programs that fulfill their
workforce needs and create greater probabilities of success for
participants.
NIMS is working with Raytheon to develop an Industry-Recognized
Apprenticeship that creates a work and learn training system and
includes apprenticeship opportunities for diverse occupations and job
levels. The result is a structured on-the-job training system that
delivers quality talent to the company, provides a long-term talent
management solution, and accommodates the wave of working learners
representing a large portion of the current and future labor force.
This new model not only changes the trajectory of talent acquisition
for the company, but also changes the culture of training from one that
focuses just on the entry-level to one that is inclusive of every
company employee, regardless of position or occupation.
______
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. King.
Mr. Holland, welcome.
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL HOLLAND, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, MAREK,
HOUSTON, TEXAS
Mr. Holland. Good morning, Chairman Alexander, Ranking
Member Murray, and Members of the Committee.
Thank you for allowing me to be with you today to discuss
the important topic of modernizing apprenticeships to expand
opportunities.
My name is Mike Holland and I am the Chief Operating
Officer of the Marek Companies. I am testifying today on behalf
of Associated Builders and Contractors. A.B.C., and its 21,000
members, are leaders in workforce development and
apprenticeships. This year A.B.C., and its members, will spend
over $1 billion educating and up-scaling approximately 450,000
construction professionals.
MAREK is a specialty interior contractor founded more than
80 years ago operating in Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee. We
offer services from drywall, painting, ceilings, and acoustical
solutions to innovative services related to 3-D modeling,
scheduling, and integrated project delivery.
I have been with MAREK for my entire 47 year career in the
construction industry. I am an example of the rewarding and
fulfilling careers that working with your hands can provide. My
motivation and commitment to workforce development stems from
my own path and I want to give all Americans the opportunity to
build successful careers in any path they choose.
We are here today because as a country, we need to do a
better job of equipping our youth with the skills necessary to
succeed in the 21st century. We should also work to give
displaced or underemployed citizens a second chance at reaching
the middle class.
If the collective efforts of our government and my industry
were working at maximum effectiveness, we would not be here
having this conversation today. That is why I am happy to be
here with you so the public and private sector can work
together to give Americans more opportunities to learn skills,
earn family sustaining wages, and grow their careers.
I want to commend the Members of this Committee for working
together to pass the reauthorization of the Perkins CTE Act.
That was a great, bipartisan effort that will help many
Americans.
In my written testimony, I offer specific recommendations
about how we can create more apprenticeship opportunities.
Because a small percentage of the construction industry is
developed through Department of Labor Registered
Apprenticeships, I believe government policies should be more
reflective of how the industry is actually training its craft
workers. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeships are one
way of teaching people skills, but they are often inefficient,
not reflective of the market's demand, and carry enormous
burdens to stay in compliance.
Instead of promoting Registered Apprenticeships, I
encourage you to promote all apprenticeships, both market
driven and those that are government defined.
I am critical of the Registered Apprenticeship system, but
I also want to be critical of the private instruction market.
The Government and industry need to be doing more. There are
successful programs and collaboratives in the workforce arena,
but we have not managed to replicate those best practices
broadly.
I want to share an example of a successful Collaborative
that highlights my industry, recognizes a problem, and comes
together to drive change and create opportunities.
That example is C3, the Construction Career Collaborative
based in Houston Texas. C3 is an alliance of construction
owners, general contractors, and specialty contractors with a
mission to develop a safe, skilled, and sustainable craft
workforce.
As a private industry solution, C3 is built on three
principles. One, is to advance the financial security, health,
and well-being of the construction craft workforce through a W-
2 employer relationship, as opposed to independent contractors.
Two, to actively implement and support the best
construction safety practices; currently OSHA 10 and 30
training.
To commit to the development and delivery of continuous
skills training linked to construction career paths for the
craft workforce; credentials that are portable and stackable.
These principles are mandated by project owners who do so
in their enlightened self-interest, then insert them into the
project requirements for the general contractor and the
specialty contractors to follow.
At C3, we are literally teaching our competitors how to
build a safe, constructive, and successful workforce
development program at their companies. To date, ten owners
that endorsed C3 have designated their projects for C3 status.
Fundamentally, we are reshaping the supply chain for
procuring construction labor and thus the way employers think
about their own needs for workforce. I believe this is the
missing element in workforce development. When it comes to
training, the contractor employer sits at the top of the supply
chain. If their needs are clearly articulated, the network of
providers becomes clear.
I share this as a positive example of industry taking it
upon itself to address their needs. I hope other industries
recognize the value in the apprenticeship model and also commit
to equipping workers with the skills they need to succeed.
I want to thank you for allowing me to present today and I
am ready to field any questions you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Holland follows:]
prepared statement of michael holland
Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray and Members of the U.S.
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, thank you
for allowing me to be with you today to discuss the important topic of
modernizing apprenticeships to expand opportunities. My name is Mike
Holland, and I am the chief operating officer of MAREK Companies.
I am testifying today on behalf of Associated Builders and
Contractors, a national construction industry trade association
established in 1950 that represents more than 21,000 members. Founded
on the merit shop philosophy, ABC and its 70 chapters help members
develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and
profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its
members work. ABC and its members are committed to spending over $1
billion on apprenticeships, earn-and learn opportunities and other
programs to educate more than 450,000 construction workers this year.
One of those 21,000 companies is my company, MAREK, which was
founded more than 80 years ago, and operates in Texas, Georgia, and
Tennessee. As a specialty interior contractor, MAREK offers commercial
and residential services from drywall framing, flooring, ceilings and
acoustical solutions to innovative professional services related to 3-D
modeling, scheduling, and integrated project delivery. MAREK is an
industry leader because of our unwavering commitment to safety and our
workforce.
I am an example of the rewarding and fulfilling careers the
construction industry can provide. After 2 years of college, I realized
that college was not the best path for my future so I dropped out and
enrolled as a drywall apprentice. During my 3 years in the drywall
field, I committed myself to learning new skills and advancing my
career in construction. I rose through the industry as a project
manager, sales manager, branch manager, and was eventually appointed
MAREK's chief operating officer in 2015. My motivation and commitment
to workforce development stems from my own path, and I want to give all
Americans the opportunity to build successful careers in the
construction sector.
Today, I hope to paint a picture of what workforce development
looks like in the construction industry, and how workers are achieving
their dreams through industry-recognized apprenticeship programs. I
will offer recommendations and suggestions that will open more
opportunities for students, women, minorities, veterans, non-graduates,
and people seeking new careers, re-entry into the workforce or a second
chance.
MAREK would not be the thriving company it is today without our
skilled and dedicated team of craft professionals. We recognize our
employees are the foundation on which our success is built, and why we
strive to attract and retain the best talent available. A job at MAREK
is just the beginning of a long and rewarding career. We treat our
employees like the talented experts they are, offering competitive
wages and salaries, healthcare benefits, on-the-job training programs
and opportunities for career advancement. We take pride in building
strength from within.
All of MAREK's workforce development and education is delivered
through industry-recognized apprenticeship programs with the primary
focus on safety. An industry-recognized apprenticeship program is a
structured career development ladder developed by the private
construction market. It is a paid position, which costs nothing to
taxpayers, and includes classroom instruction along with supervised on-
the-job training. Our programs are competency-based, which means that
apprentices advance as they master each skill, or become competent.
Rather than a specific time requirement for advancement, we require
that a worker know and demonstrate their skills--which allows the
highest performing employees to advance quicker. It also ensures
apprentices who may struggle learning a skill not get left behind. The
vast majority of workers in the construction industry are trained in
industry-recognized programs. \1\
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\1\ https://doleta.gov/oa/data_statistics.cfm; https://
www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag23.htm.
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For classroom content, we use select curriculum from NCCER--founded
in 1996 as the National Center for Construction Education & Research--
which we combine with custom MAREK content. NCCER, which was started by
120 construction CEOs, associations and academics who identified the
need for a standardized training and credentialing program, provides
portable curriculum that results in an industry-and nationally
recognized credential. Across sectors, NCCER can and should serve as a
model for other industries looking to develop their own standardized
apprenticeship programs, which will allow industry leaders to combine
resources and develop a standard set of credentials for all positions.
MAREK's education programs are structured to provide the highest
value to our workforce and our clients. Once a MAREK employee completes
a NCCER module, they can sit for a credential exam. If they pass, they
receive a stackable and portable industry-recognized credential.
Therefore, if an employee decides to leave our company, they can prove
their knowledge and demonstrate their skills with that credential
anywhere and at any jobsite in the country. An important issue
discussed later in this testimony is the Federal Government's
resistance to accepting industry-recognized credentials, which limits
opportunities for millions of workers.
MAREK has developed an education system that we believe provides
limitless opportunities for all our workers. For example, once an
employee has graduated from one of our apprentice programs and gained
experience in the field, they can enter our foreman field leader
training program. We have multiple examples of strong candidates who
have progressed from entry-level apprentice to entry-level leadership
roles within 5 years. This program is also available to incumbent
workers. At MAREK, we believe continuing education should be a lifelong
endeavor and that all employees regardless of age should have the
opportunity to earn a leadership position.
Recruitment
As the Members of this Committee know, America is facing an
enormous workforce shortage. There are currently six million open jobs
in the United States and 500,000 of those are in the construction
industry. At MAREK, we are taking proactive steps to give Americans
terrific opportunities in the construction industry by partnering with
high schools and nonprofit community organizations to educate students
about the lucrative and rewarding careers in the skilled trades.
We have also partnered with Texas A&M University to better target
underrepresented populations to grow and diversify our workforce. In
addition, we have committed significant resources to bringing women
into our industry. While there is a stigma that construction is a man's
job, nothing could be farther from the truth. We have a ``Women at
MAREK'' initiative and offer peer advisors for our female employees. We
want to create a welcoming environment for all our employees.
Partnering with community groups and nonprofits, such as the United
Way, has helped us to hire individuals experiencing hardships. These
partnerships are critical to helping disadvantaged Americans and rely
on two-way communication. The United Way contacts us when they believe
they have an individual that would be a great fit for our company and
we reach out to them when there are roles to be filled. If our
employees are struggling with sections of a test to obtain credentials,
we partner with adult education centers to ensure they have the
attention they deserve.
How We Can Expand Apprenticeship Opportunities
Our apprenticeship programs are constantly modernizing to provide
the best possible development opportunities to our workforce. Roughly
10 years ago, we made the decision to train some of our workforce with
Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship programs, and committed
significant company resources to ensure we were in full compliance. We
made this decision because we wanted to bid on Federal construction
projects, and to win those contracts, it is practically required that
you use DOL-registered apprenticeships.
After 6 years, we ultimately decided to de-register and instead
exclusively utilize our in-house development program. We found the
DOL's hours requirements inflexible and somewhat arbitrary because the
instruction is based on time in the classroom, not on the jobsite. And
when DOL requires apprentices to sit in the classroom after they have
already demonstrated their knowledge on the jobsite, it hinders their
growth and prevents them from advancing onto the next skill. Without
compromising our unwavering focus on safety, our program is more
flexible and allows someone to master skills and progress at their
desired speed.
In our experience, apprentices and instructors experienced burnout
with the DOL-registered program's extensive after-hours classroom
requirements because it was not flexible enough to accommodate business
fluctuations, which led to both some apprentices dropping out and
instructors choosing not to participate as mentors.
The purpose of sharing this story is not to criticize DOL-
registered programs, and especially not graduates, but to demonstrate
the difficulties that many companies face in administering these
programs. I hope that the lessons I share can spur change to create
more apprenticeship opportunities for more people.
While MAREK had the resources to register a DOL program, de-
register it, and return to our successful industry-recognized training
method, unfortunately, most small-and medium-sized businesses do not
have that luxury. The reporting requirements are often duplicative and
stretched our smaller branches to their administrative capacity. As a
company, we had to divert resources away from education and training
and put them toward paperwork, which ultimately hurt our workers and
their families. DOL's assistance often felt like requirements rather
than recommendations.
DOL's rigid apprenticeship programs are one of the reasons why most
of the construction industry chooses to train their workforce through
the industry-recognized model. As I mentioned, this model allows
employees the flexibility to progress at their own speed and obtain
nationally recognized, portable and stackable credentials.
Unfortunately, the Federal Government does not recognize this
successful model when procuring their construction projects. Because of
Davis-Bacon requirements, only apprentices in DOL-registered programs
can be considered ``apprentices'' under the law's job classifications.
When you are a DOL-registered apprentice, you can be paid a wage
relative to your experience. On the other hand, if you are an industry-
recognized apprentice working on a Federal project, the government
mandates that you are paid the same wage as your more experienced, more
skilled peers.
As an example, this would be equivalent to allowing construction
workers in one state to be paid wages based on experience and
education, but all workers in a different state to be paid the same,
regardless of skill level. This unfair advantage and preference to DOL-
registered apprenticeships dramatically reduces the amount of people
that can be trained in our industry and limits opportunities for all.
According to the recently published DOL task force report on
expanding apprenticeship opportunities, an apprenticeship is an
arrangement that includes a paid-work component and an educational or
instructional component, wherein an individual obtains workplace
relevant knowledge and skills. The apprentices at MAREK and in other
industry-recognized programs are paid, receive on-the-job training and
classroom instruction, and earn a stackable, portable credential. If a
company is forced to pay that apprentice the same as his or her more
experienced peers, then that company may not be able to afford to bid
on a Federal project. This decision is passed down the chain and ends
up hurting the apprentice the most, as they will have less on-the-job
experience, mentoring by company leaders or the wage for a day's hard
work.
I urge Members of this Committee to work together to open more
apprenticeship opportunities. Without arguing the merits of Davis-
Bacon, there are simple reforms that would allow apprentices in
industry-recognized programs to have the same opportunities that those
in DOL-registered programs have. The system should be equal and fair to
all.
Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray and Members of the
Committee: thank you once again for inviting me to participate in
today's hearing. I look forward to working together to expand
apprenticeship programs and give all Americans the opportunity to build
successful careers.
______
[summary statement of michael holland]
My name is Mike Holland, and I am the chief operating officer of
MAREK Companies. I am testifying today on behalf of Associated Builders
and Contractors. MAREK is a specialty interior contractor offering
commercial and residential services in Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee. I
started in the construction industry as a drywall apprentice after
dropping out of 2 years of college. I rose through the ranks as a
project manager, sales manager, branch manager and eventually was
appointed MAREK COO in 2015.
My goal today is to paint a picture of what workforce development
looks like in the construction industry and offer recommendations about
how the public and private sectors can help open apprenticeship
opportunities. All of MAREK's workforce development and education is
delivered through industry-recognized apprenticeship programs with the
primary focus on safety. An industry-recognized apprenticeship program
is a structured career development ladder developed by the private
construction market. It is a paid position, which costs nothing to
taxpayers, and includes classroom instruction along with supervised on-
the-job training.
For classroom content, we use select curriculum from NCCER which we
combine with custom MAREK content. NCCER, which was started by 120
construction CEOs who identified the need for a standardized training
and credentialing program, provides portable curriculum that results in
an industry-and nationally recognized credential. If an employee
decides to leave our company, they can prove their knowledge and
demonstrate their skills with that credential anywhere and at any
jobsite in the country.
As Senators know, America is facing an enormous workforce shortage.
There are currently six million open jobs in the United States and
500,000 of those are in the construction industry. We are proactively
recruiting women, underserved populations and folks experiencing
hardships through partnerships with nonprofits and community groups.
Roughly 10 years ago, we made the decision to train some of our
workforce with Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship programs
because we wanted to bid for Federal contracts. After 6 years, we
ultimately decided to de-register because we found the DOL's hours
requirements inflexible and somewhat arbitrary because the instruction
is based on time in the classroom, not on the jobsite. Without
compromising our unwavering focus on safety, our program is more
flexible and allows someone to master skills and progress at their
desired speed.
Unfortunately, the Federal Government does not recognize our
successful training method when procuring Federal projects because our
trainees cannot be considered ``apprentices'' under Davis-Bacon job
classifications. This decision is passed down the chain and ends up
hurting the apprentice the most, as they will have less on-the-job
experience, mentoring by company leaders or the wage for a day's hard
work.
Without arguing the merits of Davis-Bacon, there are simple reforms
that would allow apprentices in industry-recognized programs to have
the same opportunities that those in DOL-registered programs have.
______
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Holland.
Ms. Vito, welcome.
STATEMENT OF SANDI VITO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 1199 SEIU TRAINING
AND EMPLOYMENT FUNDS, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Ms. Vito. Good morning, Chairman Alexander, Ranking Senator
Murray, and the Members of the Committee.
Thanks for the opportunity today to present and testify
before you about the important role Registered Apprenticeships
play in our workforce system.
My name is Sandi Vito. I am the Executive Director of the
1199 SEIU Training and Employment Funds, and also the President
of the Health Career Advancement Project Education Association.
First, the Training and Employment Funds operate as
industry partnerships jointly governed by the largest health
care local union in the country and health care employers from
across New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, DC, and
Florida.
We administer education benefits on behalf of more than
250,000 workers and 450 employers. Each year, we provide
training, workforce development, and allied health degree
programs for 35,000 frontline health care workers.
The Health Career Advancement Project, or H-CAP, is our
national organization. Our Training Funds along with other
training funds from across the country, employers, and unions
collaborate through H-CAP. This national network encompasses
nearly 1,000 employers and 600,000 workers in the health care
industry.
H-CAP also currently serves as the contractor for the U.S.
Department of Labor to support the expansion of apprenticeships
in the health care sector.
Modern health care has not traditionally used
apprenticeships with any frequency. However, over the last 2
years, with H-CAP's support, apprenticeships in more than 17
health care occupations have been registered either nationally
or locally. The employer sponsors of apprenticeships are
varied, large and small, from Kaiser Permanente in California
to Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.
While our network of training funds and industry
partnerships administer a myriad of training and education
programs, Registered Apprenticeships are, as Senator Murray,
said, the gold standard of workforce development.
A ``New York Times'' article recently cited two studies.
They noted an analysis of 11 different workforce training
programs in Washington State and found that Registered
Apprenticeships had, by far, the largest positive effect on
short and long term salaries with an ROI, Return on Investment
18 times the cost of the program.
A 2012 study of 10 states found that Registered Apprentices
earn $240,000 more over a lifetime than similar workers who had
not gone through such a program.
To highlight just a few of the benefits of apprenticeship,
first of all, our employers choose apprenticeship because this
strategy fills a labor market gap. It augments classroom
instruction with hands-on learning under a mentor, which is, in
many cases, the best way to gain competencies for certain
occupations.
The combination of formal instruction and mentored on the
job learning is what makes apprenticeship the high quality
standard of workforce development standards.
Employers know that apprentices must demonstrate in a real
world environment the skills needed to perform the job. And a
worker with a journey certificate is guaranteed, not just to
have the competencies, but to have labor market mobility by
carrying that certificate. Workers obtain high wage jobs, an
industry recognized credential, and labor market mobility.
The wage progression feature of Registered Apprenticeships
assures that as workers gain new skills and perform more and
more work independently, they are appropriately paid for the
work that they are delivering. The registration process ensures
that apprenticeships are not just aligned to a single employer,
but to industry standards.
There are other work-based learning strategies, and they
are valuable, but they are not the same as Registered
Apprenticeships, and that distinction is very important.
The term ``registered apprenticeship'' for nearly a
century, denotes a level of quality to employers and workers.
Diluting the meaning or the practice of Registered
Apprenticeships will undermine the tradition of those high
quality outcomes.
As we look to the future of expansion of Registered
Apprenticeships, and we should, the tradition of quality is the
true benefit to workers, communities, employers, and
industries.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to testify today, and
I am happy to take any questions at the appropriate time.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Vito follows:]
prepared statement of sandi vito
``Modernizing Apprenticeships to Expand Opportunities.''
Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray, and other Members of the
Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you this
morning as you consider the important role that registered
apprenticeships play in our workforce system.
My name is Sandi Vito, I am Executive Director of the 1199SEIU
Training and Employment Funds and President of the Healthcare Career
Advancement Program Education Association.
The Training and Employment Funds operate as an industry
partnership jointly governed by 1199SEIU United Health Care Workers
East, the largest healthcare union in the United States and health care
employers from New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington DC and
Florida. The Funds are multi-employer Taft-Hartley trusts established
in accordance with Section 186(c) of the Labor Management Relations Act
of 1947 and an ``employee welfare benefit plan'' as that term is
defined in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C.
1001 et seq. (``ERISA''), as amended. As a multi-employer trust fund,
the Funds are financed with contributions from employers pursuant to
various collective bargaining agreements between 1199SEIU United Health
Care Workers East (``the Union'') and healthcare employers.
The Funds administer education benefits on behalf of more than
250,000 healthcare workers and 450 employers. Each year, more than
35,000 frontline healthcare workers receive workforce development and
higher education benefits in allied health programs through the
Training Funds. Through our programs we support career pathways for
entry level healthcare workers, while meeting the workforce needs of
employers. The Training and Employment Funds' programs include:
Citizenship
English as a Second Language
High School Completion for adult learners
College preparation
Allied Health Certificate and Degree Programs in more
than fifty occupations as wide-ranging as surgical technologist
and nursing to pharmacist and social work
Skills enhancement and continuing education to assist
the industry with healthcare delivery system transformation
Registered Apprenticeship
Partnering with more than 100 colleges, the Training and Employment
Funds' workforce development model uses an intensive support service
model to increase completion and career advancement success rates.
The 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds are members of the
Health Career Advancement Project (H-CAP), which is a national labor/
management cooperation organization of industry partnerships across 16
states plus Washington, DC. This national network encompasses nearly
1,000 employers and more than 600,000 workers from all sectors of
healthcare. Working as a national industry intermediary contractor with
U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) and with the support of foundations--
such as JP Morgan Chase--H-CAP has provided technical assistance,
subject matter expertise, shareable resources, and capacity building
infrastructure to support the development of Registered Apprenticeship
in healthcare.
Modern healthcare has not traditionally been an industry in which
registered apprenticeships are used with any frequency. However, over
the last 2 years, through H-CAP support, more than 17 apprenticeship
programs have been registered and implemented across the country. The
employers associated with those apprenticeships are varied. They
include Kaiser Permanente in California, Colorado, and soon to be in
Washington State, Care New England in Rhode Island, University of
Rochester--Strong Memorial Hospital in New York, Steward Health Care in
Massachusetts, and Mount Sinai Health System and BronxCare in New York
City.
Other employers not associated with H-CAP or SEIU, such as, Norton
Healthcare in Kentucky, Ochsner Health System in Louisiana, Dartmouth
Hitchcock in New Hampshire, and Fairview Health Services in Minnesota
have invested in registered apprenticeship programs. Registered
apprenticeships continue to expand throughout the U.S. healthcare
industry without sacrificing standards or quality.
The occupations registered with the USDOL and state departments of
labor through H-CAP support are varied, ranging from community health
worker to medical coder. In all, 17 occupations, with two more pending,
have been registered over the last 2 years.
Nationally Registered Occupations:
Advanced Home Health with Specialties (pending)
Ambulatory Coder
Central Sterile Processing Technician
Community Health Worker
Emergency Medical Technician
Hospital Coder
Medical Assistant
Surgical Technologist (pending)
Support and Retention Coordinator I and II (Home Care
Supervisor)
Occupations Registered at the state Level:
Certified Nurse Assistant
Community Health Nurse
Direct Support Professional
Early Childhood Educator
In-patient Nurse Residency
Licensed Vocational Nurse to Registered Nurse
Paramedic
Patient Care Technician
Physical Therapist Aide
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors
(LACD Counselors)
Through H-CAP's efforts 143 people are apprenticed in these
occupations at the national level, and, to date, a 98 percent on-time
completion rate has been achieved. More than 350 people have been
apprenticed at the state level.
While the Training and Employment Funds and H-CAP's affiliated
organizations administer many training and education programs,
registered apprenticeships are the gold standard of workforce
development strategies.
The New York Times recently cited two studies, noting an analysis
of ``11 different workforce training programs in Washington State
[that] found . . . registered apprenticeships had by far the largest
positive effect on short- and long-term salaries, returning 18 times
the cost of the program in lifetime earnings. A 2012 study of 10 states
found that registered apprentices earned $240,000 more over a lifetime
than similar workers who hadn't gone through such a program.'' \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Kevin Carey, ``Trump's Apprentice Plan Seems to Need a
Mentor,'' New York Times, September 28, 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both employers and workers benefit from registered apprenticeships.
For employers, registered apprenticeships fill a
labor market gap, augmenting instruction in areas where hands-
on learning guided by a mentor provides new competencies that
cannot be adequately learned in the classroom. Often didactic--
or classroom instruction--does not fully prepare students for
the real-life contingencies of a particular job. By combining
formal classroom instruction with mentored on-the-job training
and a structured learning pathway, through which apprentices
acquire and demonstrate skill and knowledge, registered
apprenticeships provide a high-quality learning opportunity not
replicated in other workforce development strategies.
Employers can trust that apprentices demonstrated, in
a real-world environment, the skills to perform the job. The
journeyman or apprentice certificate earned through registered
apprenticeships benefits employers by guaranteeing that the
competencies registered with the U.S. Department of Labor have
been mastered.
Participants or apprentices have the ability to earn
while they learn, allowing talented workers to master new
skills while continuing to support their families.
Registered apprenticeships have protections for both
workers and employers. For workers, as they gradually take on
more independent responsibilities, built-in wage progressions
ensure they are paid for the work they deliver.
At the end of the registered apprenticeships, workers
have jobs in their chosen field, along with labor market
mobility, enabling apprentices who complete the program to
obtain employment throughout the industry.
The industry itself benefits as more workers are
available for high-demand occupations.
Registered apprenticeships are unique in that they have protections
for workers, such as wage progression, and the registration ensures
they are aligned not to a single employer's needs but to industry
standards. Other work-based learning strategies may be valuable
workforce development tools, but they are categorically not registered
apprenticeships. The distinction is important. The term registered
apprenticeships denotes a level of quality employers and workers can
rely upon, and diluting the meaning or practice of this workforce
strategy will undermine a tradition of high-quality outcomes.
To share one example of the value of registered apprenticeships:
Coding in hospitals has become more complex. Hospital based coders must
understand more than 70,000 codes, have a grasp of anatomy and
physiology, and possess strong interpersonal skills to ask questions of
care providers. Local colleges were graduating coding students at a
rapid rate. Nonetheless, the hospitals we work with in New York
reported shortages. They were not hiring recent coding graduates.
Instead, they were hiring coders with experience, largely from each
other.
The coding registered apprenticeship program provides the ability
to combine classroom instruction with hands-on coding of real-time
records, under the guidance of an experienced coder--or mentor.
Apprentices are paid for their work and, as they are able to code more
records on their own, their wages increase. At the end of the
apprenticeship, not only does that employer have newly qualified
workers but the entire industry's workforce has grown.
The workers earn an associate's degree and now have a credential
with value in the labor market. A credential they were only able to
obtain through the earn-while-you-learn experience offered by the
registered apprenticeship model. Workers in this apprenticeship have
increased their wages from minimum wage to $56,000 annually.
According to the Director of Coding at Care New England, ``We
used Registered Apprenticeship to first, have a grow-your-own
approach to investing in our incumbent coding staff and
providing them with needed education and skills, and second, to
reach out to other Care New England employees who may have an
interest in a coding career. The Current coding staff could
advance in their careers, and the Medical Coding department
within the Care New England system could benefit from
onboarding additional coders in the long term. One of the
distinguishing features of identifying and realizing these
goals relied on the strong labor/management collaboration
supporting the program.'' \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Jennifer Couri, Director of Coding, HIM, CDI, and Revenue
Integrity, Care New England--Women and Infant's Hospital.
The Training Funds implemented a Community Health Worker
apprenticeship in New York City, and a graduate, Destina Garcia, was
featured in a September 2017 New York Times article about the
advantages of registered apprenticeships in healthcare. Destina's story
illustrates the promise and value of registered apprenticeship in
industries beyond traditional apprenticeship trades like carpentry and
plumbing. She was one of 15 new CHWs who participated in the pilot
registered apprenticeship, which began in November 2016.
Destina grew up in the South Bronx, sharing a two-bedroom apartment
with her parents, four brothers, a sister, grandmother, and uncle.
During her childhood she watched family members deal with illnesses
that impacted their quality of life. Her father suffered from diabetes.
Her mother struggles with Lupus. And she lost her younger sister to a
fatal heart attack at just 18. As the eldest child, Destina spent much
of her time taking care of the people closest to her. These experiences
instilled in her a desire to help others, which is why she feels
healthcare is her calling.
Before her apprenticeship, Destina managed to find entry-level work
in medical records and earn certificates as a certified nursing
assistant and emergency medical technician. However, employers were
reluctant to hire her in those occupations because she didn't have
relevant work experience. She was hesitant to enroll in a 4-year
college program because of the cost and the fact that she would not be
guaranteed a job upon graduation.
Then, Destina learned about the groundbreaking CHW registered
apprenticeship at BronxCare and was selected to be part of the first
cohort of apprentices.
CHWs connect underserved community members with critical medical
and social services. They also educate clients about the importance of
adopting healthy daily habits to improve their quality of life and
reduce healthcare costs.
As part of the registered apprenticeship, Destina took three
classes, earning nine college credits, through LaGuardia Community
College, CUNY. Classes were conducted onsite at the hospital. During
the on-the-job portion of the training, she was supported by a peer
mentor with more than 20 years experience, who Destina continues to
stay in touch with for advice and guidance even after completing her
apprenticeship.
Because registered apprenticeships eliminate the school-to-practice
gap by providing both didactic and practical experience, Destina was
able to apply the knowledge she learned in the classroom to the work
she was performing in close to real time. During the course of the
apprenticeship she received two raises, bringing her salary to $42,000
annually. Pay increases based on acquired skills and experience are an
integral component of the registered apprentice system.
Destina completed her apprenticeship in June 2017 and has continued
working at BronxCare in the Population Health Department as a CHW. The
apprenticeship served not only to support Destina in acquiring a family
supporting job, and the industry in securing a talented and caring
worker, but also as a gateway to future career advancement. Destina
plans to transfer the credits earned during her apprenticeship toward a
bachelor's in social work program at Lehman College, CUNY.
Registered apprenticeships provide positive results for
participants, employers and the entire healthcare industry. For
Destina, perhaps the most important of those results was the transition
from sporadic, lower-wage employment to a full-time position as a
Community Health Worker making $42,000 per year.
For employers and the industry, the value of the registered
apprenticeship model lies in the confidence that employees will possess
the skills and competencies required to perform their jobs well.
The expansion of registered apprenticeships in healthcare and other
industries is an important objective and one that should be encouraged.
In fact, through H-CAP's continued efforts to expand apprenticeship,
more than 700 healthcare apprentices will be engaged by the fall of
this year.
Expanding the registered apprenticeship model has tremendous value.
However, it is imperative that any expansion not create a duplicative
system that is of lower quality, with less rigorous standards than the
registered apprenticeship model. A lower quality system would not
adequately train participants, provide for worker protections, nor
provide credentials employers and workers can trust.
As we look to the future expansion of registered apprenticeship
opportunities, the tradition of quality is the true benefit to workers,
communities, employers and industries.
Thank you for your time and for inviting to me testify today.
______
[summary statement of sandi vito]
``Modernizing Apprenticeships to Expand Opportunities.''
Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray, and other Members of the
Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you this
morning as you consider the important role that registered
apprenticeships play in our workforce system.
The 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds operate as an industry
partnership jointly governed by 1199SEIU United Health Care Workers
East, the largest healthcare union in the United States and health care
employers from New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, DC and
Florida.
The Funds administer education benefits on behalf of more than
250,000 healthcare workers and 450 employers. Each year, more than
35,000 frontline healthcare workers receive workforce development and
higher education benefits in allied health programs through the
Training Funds. Through our programs we support career pathways for
entry level healthcare workers, while meeting the workforce needs of
employers.
The 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds are members of the
Health Career Advancement Project (H-CAP), which is a national labor/
management cooperation organization of industry partnerships across 16
states plus Washington, DC. This national network encompasses nearly
1,000 employers and more than 600,000 workers from all sectors of
healthcare.
Modern healthcare has not traditionally been an industry in which
registered apprenticeships are used with any frequency. However, over
the last 2 years, through H-CAP support, more than 17 apprenticeship
programs have been registered and implemented across the country.
Registered apprenticeships are unique in that they have protections
for workers, such as wage progression, and the registration ensures
they are aligned not to a single employer's needs but to industry
standards. Other work-based learning strategies may be valuable
workforce development tools, but they are categorically not registered
apprenticeships. The distinction is important. The term registered
apprenticeships denotes a level of quality employers and workers can
rely upon, and diluting the meaning or practice of this workforce
strategy will undermine a tradition of high-quality outcomes.
Expanding the registered apprenticeship model has tremendous value.
However, it is imperative that any expansion not create a duplicative
system that is of lower quality, with less rigorous standards than the
registered apprenticeship model. A lower quality system would not
adequately train participants, provide for worker protections, nor
provide credentials employers and workers can trust.
As we look to the future expansion of registered apprenticeship
opportunities, the tradition of quality is the true benefit to workers,
communities, employers and industries.
______
The Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Vito.
Mr. Johnson, welcome.
STATEMENT OF GLENN JOHNSON, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT LEADER, BASF
CORPORATION, HOUSTON, TEXAS
Mr. Johnson. Good morning, Chairman Alexander, Ranking
Member Murray, and Members of the Committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the
Committee to talk about BASF's approach to workforce
development, specifically apprenticeships, and how they fit
within the present day and long term workforce development plan
for BASF.
I would like to thank you for your leadership in passing
the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st
Century Act to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and
Technical Education Act, legislation for which I testified last
year before the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
BASF is the second largest producer of chemicals and
related products in North America. BASF has more than 15,000
employees in 148 locations across the U.S. At BASF, we create
chemistry for a sustainable future. The sustainability includes
the economy and the environment, but also people, and that is
what I am here to talk about today.
Twenty-two years ago, I was a proud young man living in a
trailer park in western Kentucky with only a high school
diploma when I began my first manufacturing job. I ran assembly
lines, stacked cases of product, and as I worked through the
ranks, I began to take advantage of a tuition reimbursement
program. I progressed into leadership roles while continuing to
train and educate with the support of my manufacturing
employer.
That proud man from the trailer park sits before Congress
today to tell you that the manufacturing industry changed my
life, and it changes peoples' lives in the same way every day.
Alignment between the education system and the business
community is critical to deliver the knowledge and skills
necessary for an individual's success. Within the North
American Process Technology Alliance, BASF joins 49 colleges,
22 industrial organizations, and 19 vendors where we focus on
the Process Technology Associate's Degree, as an example. This
organization demonstrates the return on investment achievable
within collaborative efforts.
Dr. Robert Bartsch and I published a research paper in
``The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied
Engineering'' entitled, ``Comparing Process Technology
Education with Work Experience,'' that demonstrated strong
statistical evidence pointing toward collaborative value.
With this Degree, we found that 1 year of training was
approximately equal to 5.3 years of work experience. When
industry and education partner together to align curriculum
with collective needs, education is experience.
Now, I discuss four apprenticeship models in my written
statement, but today I will focus on one we call sequence
apprenticeships.
Our plan is to facilitate the development of this program
by creating advisory committees within education programs in
the community and technical colleges where they will agree on
competencies, allocate competencies to education and workplace
settings, agree on structured learning agendas, and provide
training through a sequence of scholarships and internships.
BASF has assembled parts of our program in Louisiana,
Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Alabama. We
identified ten educational partnerships in 2017 where we now
provide the developmental assistance and curriculum input.
BASF provided onsite experience and job training for 49
future workers in 2017 and 30 in 2018, so far. Within these
programs, BASF hired 45 workers in 2017 and 21 in 2018 thus
far.
We are in the process now of building enterprise wide
programs that are systematic and portable to other priority
sites in Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Colorado,
Wisconsin, Virginia, and Minnesota.
Our sequence apprenticeship model supports future workers
in the entire degree program, not just the ones we hire. It
increases the quality of the degree program as a whole, not
just the apprenticeship program, resulting in higher relevance
for the school.
It allows flexibility for hiring managers needed to
maximize apprenticeship hires and it allows organizations to
help fill the pipeline for other industry partners, not just
for themselves.
Looking ahead, if we take no action, in the very near
future, the jobs gap will ignite a wage war between industry
partners. This will result in inflated wages above market and
business models, and distressed sites will suffer first as they
will not be able to match inflating wages.
We will likely lose productivity, then accounts. Buyers
will be forced to look outside the U.S., and the manufacturing
sector will decline, and these jobs will be permanently lost.
BASF plans to scale our activities across North America,
and we are prepared to openly share our strategy and execution
plan for workforce development with everyone.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Johnson follows:]
prepared statement of glenn johnson
I. Introduction
Good morning Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray, and Members
of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the
Committee to talk about BASF's approach to workforce development,
specifically apprenticeships and how they fit in with our present-day
and long-term workforce development plans.
Before talking about my company and thoughts on apprenticeships, I
would like to thank you, Mr. Chairman and Senator Murray for your
leadership in passing the Strengthening Career and Technical Education
for the 21st Century Act to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and
Technical Education Act. I testified last year before the House
Committee on Education and Workforce in support of reauthorizing the
Perkins Act and am encouraged to see it is progressing through the
legislative process.
II. BASF Corporation
BASF Corporation, the North American subsidiary of BASF SE, is the
second largest producer of chemicals and related products in North
America. In the US, BASF Corporation has more than 15,000 employees
across 148 locations, of which 74 are production sites and 18 are
research and development facilities. The company has more than 1,700
employees dedicated to research and development in the U.S. and more
than 8,500 manufacturing employees. BASF collaborates with
approximately 170 top North American universities, research
institutions and companies.
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our
customers increasingly expect consistent and innovative solutions that
also contribute to a more sustainable future. They believe, as we do,
that being environmentally and socially responsible goes hand in hand
with running a profitable business. BASF has the broadest portfolio in
the chemical industry serving customers in nearly every industry
including: chemicals, automotive, agriculture, construction, personal
care, health and nutrition, packaging and consumer products.
Sustainably includes the environment and economy, but also PEOPLE;
and that is what I am here to talk about today. We strive to attract
and develop talent from both internal and external sources. More than
one-third of our jobs are filled with internal candidates--which means
two-thirds of our jobs are filled with external candidates, which leads
to our discussion on apprenticeships. We seek the best talent from all
sources--leading universities, business connections, trade
associations, national diversity conferences, partnerships to hire
veterans, historically black colleges and universities and referrals
from our own employees.
III. Filling the Skills Gap
An estimated 3.5 million manufacturing jobs must be filled by 2025
to meet industry needs. Due to gaps in the critical skills needed for
these jobs, nearly two million of these jobs will go unfilled.
Companies like BASF rely on manufacturing talent to remain competitive,
which underscores the need for closer alignment between the education
system and the business community. Therefore, we focus our efforts on:
A. Career and Technical Education awareness,
B. Innovative Education partnerships to increase pipeline
quality,
C. Aligning academic learning with on-the-job relevance, and
D. Government and industrial partnerships.
BASF's award-winning science education programs and funding for
schools across the region stimulate learning in science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) and support workforce development. Since
2010, more than 410,000 schoolchildren in pre-K through Grade 12 have
participated in a variety of our science education programs including:
Kids' Lab, Teens' Lab, Science Academy and national sponsorship of the
Chemical Education Foundation's You Be the Chemist programs.
IV. Manufacturing Jobs Can Take You Anywhere
Some say jobs in manufacturing are dead-end jobs, but I am here
today to testify that manufacturing jobs do not have a ceiling--they
provide options. Some of us prefer the exciting hands-on aspects of
technology roles, and some seek administrative work. Manufacturing
provides opportunities for both, today.
Ms. Jana Truett
Was a cashier in a pharmacy when she decided
to get her associate degree in process technology. She
began work with BASF as an operator and now trains
others in technology.
Ms. Jalisa King
Was a cook when she decided to get her
associate degree. She is now an operator in BASF and
part of our Ambassador team telling her story to other
young women.
Ms. Tara McMahon
Worked in a recreation center. After
completing her associate degree, now works at BASF as a
Laboratory Technician.
Glenn Johnson
22 years ago, I was a proud young man living
in a trailer park in western Kentucky with only a high
school diploma. At that time, I began my first job in
manufacturing. I ran assembly lines and stacked cases
of product. As I worked through the ranks, I began to
take advantage of the tuition reimbursement program. I
progressed into leadership roles while continuing to
train and educate with the support of my manufacturing
employer. That proud man from the trailer park sits
before Congress today to tell you that the
manufacturing industry changed my life and continues to
change people's lives in the same way, every day.
V. A Strategy for Workforce Development
Alignment between the education system and the business community
is critical to deliver the knowledge and skills necessary for an
individual's success. This includes direct involvement in all stages of
workforce preparation and building continuous and meaningful
relationships with workforce potentials and organizations. Wherever
possible, BASF seeks out and promotes these collaborations, from K-12
through graduate school.
In my experience, well-designed apprenticeship programs typically
have requirements that align with three directives. BASF's Workforce
Development programs are driven by these three directives:
Quantity--Drive Career & Technical Education
Awareness
Quality--Cultivate Nested Educational Partnerships
Synergy--Leverage Government and Industrial
Partnerships
A. Quantity of the Workforce
An important function of any apprenticeship program is that it
increases worker supply within occupations that have a projected
shortage. One of the ways to do this is through outreach to
underrepresented populations, veterans, and ``retooling adults.'' An
apprenticeship program is one of the best mechanisms to achieve this.
The progressive pay aspect of apprenticeship provides the immediate
income necessary for veterans exiting the military and other
established workers looking to change careers. These ``retooling
adults'' cannot simply stop receiving a paycheck while they learn new
skills. They often have established families they must support while
making career changes toward jobs America desperately needs filled.
Organizations can create apprenticeships administered by employee
resource groups for underrepresented populations like females in
manufacturing. For example, a BASF initiative titled Female Leaders
Advancing Manufacturing Excellence (FLAME), awards females with
education scholarships for use within local community and technical
colleges and provides job experience through multiple internships for
the awardees. Additionally, the program enables women's advancement by
connecting them to a growing vital network of mentors and colleagues.
B. Quality of the Workforce
An important outcome of any apprenticeship is alignment between the
curriculum delivered and the knowledge, skills, and abilities
organizations require.
As a member of the North American Process Technology
Alliance, BASF joins 49 colleges, 22 industrial organizations,
and 19 vendors across America where we focus on curriculum and
instructor skills for the Process Technology Associate degree.
This organization demonstrates the return on investment
achievable within collaborative efforts.
Dr. Robert Bartsch and I published a research
paper in The Journal of Technology, Management, and
Applied Engineering titled ``Comparing Process
Technology Education and Work Experience'' that
demonstrates strong statistical evidence pointing
toward collaborative value.
Within this degree we found that 1 year of
training is approximately equal to 5.3 years of work
experience. This is not to suggest that 1 year of
education in general is equal to 5 years of experience.
However, when industry and education partner to align
curriculum with collective needs and assure that
learning environments are close simulations of the job
with applied performance criteria, Education/Training
IS Experience.
C. Collaborative Synergy
An important aspect of any apprenticeship model is collaborative
synergy between education, industry and government organizations that
improves the quantity and quality of the workforce pipeline. To achieve
this, foundational efforts within apprenticeship programs must include
the creation of collaborative partnerships. In BASF, we seek these
partnerships in every opportunity. It is in BASF's best interest to
help assure that our industry partners have a sufficient supply of
qualified workers. At BASF, we want to do more than develop only the
part of the workforce that we hire. We want to help and support our
industry partners acquire talent and help all future workers increase
their employability for all our industry partners, not just BASF.
VI. Apprenticeship Exploration
BASF feels that apprenticeships, when designed appropriately, can
be a valuable tool in workforce development. We took time to study
existing efforts before deciding how to move forward. We conducted a
comprehensive examination of the different models of apprenticeships
and gathered feedback from other organizations and colleagues about the
models. We classified our findings into three different apprenticeship
categories and later created a fourth.
German Apprenticeships
Educational path for children is identified
by academic achievement in the 4th grade. These paths
are flexible but highly suggestive.
Those on the apprenticeship path (beginning
in the 5th grade) complete dual enrollment with high
school and vocational training programs, but end
secondary education by the 10th grade.
This model does not fit culturally within the
U.S.
Parents in the U.S. may consider
students in these types of apprenticeships to
be high school dropouts.
Parents in the U.S. will likely have
strong opposition to the seeming removal of
choice by a 4th grade test.
Traditional American Apprenticeships
Progressive (Skills Based) Pay with increases
as skills are acquired.
Provides mentor based on-the-job training and
experience.
Traditionally did not have partnerships with
college programs.
Modern American Apprenticeships
Career and Tech Ed Awareness programs inform
students of career choices.
Progressive (Skills Based) Pay with increases
as skills are acquired.
Provides mentor based on-the-job training and
experience.
Establish partnerships with Community and
Technical college programs.
VII. Registered Apprenticeships
The current ``registered apprenticeship'' model has a perception
within industry as being complicated and heavily burdensome with
paperwork and reporting. This has affected the quantity of actively
registered apprenticeships in the U.S. Some organizations that need
apprenticeships may not seek registration and thus are not eligible for
funding assistance because they perceive an insufficient return on
investment for what they must do to receive it.
For example, in 2015, BASF planned to train 105 individuals from
Texas and Michigan to be Process Operators and Maintenance Technicians
through the American Apprenticeship Grant Program. We created a
complete two- to three-year registered apprenticeship program as part
of a joint effort between BASF and several industry partners--all of
which planned to train and hire their own counts of registered
apprentices. However, because one document was not completed properly,
the program, which had involved much work to develop, was declined and
the training was canceled. Since this time, some of the partners have
endeavored to conduct the training on their own but with significantly
decreased numbers of participants.
Headcount restriction causes hedging of apprenticeship
participation by site leaders. Registered apprenticeships are aligned
with job availability because they are designed to result in a hire. On
the surface this sounds great, but it also decreases interest of some
organizations. Site leaders are never 100 percent certain of specific
employment needs due to turnover, production capacity expansion, or
project completions. This uncertainty, coupled with a very set and
inflexible headcount restriction, (a characteristic of many companies),
leads to a hesitation to commit to projected hire counts that may be
two to three years in the future. If a site leader is required to
commit to hire as a part of program participation, as in registered
apprenticeships, then they will only do so for a fraction of the count
they may need to hire, in order to hedge against unexpected
circumstances.
If the purpose of apprenticeships is to develop participants within
jobs for which there exists or will exist a critical projected
shortage, then apprenticeship programs should encourage development of
our full projected hiring counts, not just a part. Therefore, BASF is
moving toward what we call Sequence Apprenticeships.
VIII. Sequence Apprenticeships
According to the Department of Labor, registered ``Performance
Based Apprenticeship programs are premised on attainment of
demonstrated, observable and measurable competencies,'' and identify
the ``allocation of the approximate time to be spent in each major
process.'' BASF's ``Sequence Apprenticeships'' should fit within this
model.
Our plan is to facilitate the creation of these programs by
joining/creating advisory committees within the education program where
the committee will agree on:
Defined competencies that are directly related to the
job/role through a job/task analysis and allocate which
competencies will be achieved in the education setting and
which will be achieved in the work-place learning setting
Structured on-the-job learning agendas/activities for
competencies attained within workplace learning that are
observable applied performance based measures of competency
attainment and that include the approximate time/hours value
for attainment of each competency
Our plan is to provide this training and education through a
sequence of scholarships and internships (scholarships within the
college program and workplace internships that provide the structured
on-the-job training within industry site locations). The program also
allows:
Credit to be given for previous experience and
competencies demonstrated
Apprentices to accelerate the rate of competency
achievement or take additional time beyond the approximate time
of completion
A. BASF's Progress toward Sequence Apprenticeships
BASF has started to assemble parts of the Sequence Apprenticeships
through our workforce development strategy with execution activities in
Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Alabama.
We identified ten nested educational partnerships in
2017 where we provide development assistance and direct
curriculum input.
BASF provided direct onsite experience and job skill
training to 49 future workers in 2017 and 30 in 2018 thus far.
BASF hired 45 workers in 2017 and 21 in 2018 thus
far, from development programs with which we partner and advise
on curriculum.
Within our FLAME program we are providing
scholarships and internships for females.
More work must be done to complete the program assembly. We are in
the process of building enterprise-wide programs that are systematic
and that are portable to other sites locations high in our priority
such as Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Colorado, Wisconsin,
Virginia and Minnesota.
Our Sequence Apprenticeships model allows:
Support of future workers within the entire degree
program, not only the ones we hire.
Increased quality of the education program as a
whole--not just the apprenticeship program, resulting in higher
relevance for the school.
Hiring managers to maximize the number of
apprenticeship hires because the decision to hire is made at
the time of credentialing when the actual situation is clear,
not forecasted.
Organizations to help fill the pipeline for other
industry partners, not only for themselves
Based on our experience, the Sequence Apprenticeship model holds
much promise. It is a model that can ``catch-on'' and encourage more
participation by industry partners. Sequence Apprenticeships allow the
flexibility that hiring managers need to support the maximum number of
future workers and hire the maximum number of employees from the
program.
B. A Proposal for Distributable Support for Collaborative Workforce
Development
Under this model organizations would work together as true partners
where multiple partners can share the load to develop future workers.
Support to each of the industry partners would be based on their share
of workforce development efforts within a collective group of future
workers. This would require a support program that is distributable in
parts as follows:
Part 1: Setup of new or restructuring of councils
within education programs that involve the school and multiple
industry partners from the region
Part 2: Work to define competencies, learning agendas
and schedules, and workplace setting requirements for
instruction
Part 3: Scholarships for program participants
Part 4: Executed workplace on-the-job learning
IX. Looking Ahead
If we sit on the sidelines and take no action toward development of
the workforce need to fill the jobs gap, the ``Skills Gap'' will become
critical within manufacturing in approximately 4 years. Unless
something is done to change the status quo, the lack of workers will
ignite a wage war between industry partners that will result in
inflated wages above market and business models. This wage increase
will result in a short--term exchange of the same short supply of
workers, and will affect the margins of all producers. Smaller,
distressed sites will suffer first as they will not be able to match
inflating wages and likely lose productivity, then accounts. Entities
with demand for this productivity will be forced to look elsewhere and
likely turn to markets outside of the United States. The manufacturing
sector in the U.S. will decline and these U.S. jobs will be permanently
lost.
Evidence of this has already become visible in manufacturing sites.
Manufacturers have experienced employee counts that have reached a
level of site open positions where plant operations are being
negatively impacted including reduced operating shifts, higher overtime
cost, and lost production.
X. Moving Forward
BASF plans to advance and scale the activities mentioned today
across North America. We are prepared to openly share the strategy and
execution plan for workforce development with industry and government
partners. America needs the manufacturing industry to achieve the
growth we clearly see coming. Congress can catalyze this growth
providing Distributable Support for Collaborative Workforce
Development.
______
[summary statement of glenn johnson]
I. Introduction
(includes a comment about passage of the Perkins Act
reauthorization)
II. Overview of BASF Corporation
A. US Employees
B. Sustainability at BASF and how it relates to workforce
development
III. Filling the Skills Gap: An estimated 3.5 million manufacturing
jobs must be filled by 2025. Nearly two million of these jobs
will go unfilled. At BASF, we focus our efforts on:
A. Career and Technical Education awareness,
B. Innovative Education partnerships to increase pipeline
quality,
C. Aligning academic learning with on-the-job relevance, and
D. Government and industrial partnerships.
IV. Manufacturing Jobs Provide Career Options (includes Glenn's story)
V. A Strategy for Workforce Development: BASF's Workforce Development
programs are driven by these three directives:
A. Quantity--Drive Career & Technical Education Awareness
B. Quality--Cultivate Nested Educational Partnerships
C. Synergy--Leverage Government and Industrial Partnerships
VI. Apprenticeship Exploration: Apprenticeship models explained
VII. Comments and a Story about Registered Apprenticeships
VIII. Sequence Apprenticeships
A. BASF's approach to apprenticeships
B. Progress to date
C. Next Steps: A Proposal for Distributable Support for
Collaborative Workforce Development
IX. Looking Ahead: Consequences of Inaction
X. Moving Forward: BASF's Approach
______
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Johnson.
We will now begin a 5 minute round of questions.
Senator Isakson.
Senator Isakson. Mr. Johnson, I am the Chairman of the
Veterans Committee in the U.S. Senate. Senator Murray has
served in that position as well. I always go through resumes of
the people who testify before us, and I am always happy to find
a veteran.
I see you are a Gulf War veteran, is that correct?
Mr. Johnson. That is correct.
Senator Isakson. What branch of the service were you in?
Mr. Johnson. Army.
Senator Isakson. Army.
Did you do any workforce development in the Army?
Mr. Johnson. The major amount of time that I was in the
military, I was assigned to a training brigade in Fort Knox,
where we developed people in their jobs and in their skills.
Senator Isakson. The reason I ask that question, did that
start you on what has been a career of workforce development?
Mr. Johnson. At the time, I was not aware of it. But yes.
It seems as though every employer I had--and that was straight
out of high school--every employer I had within a short period
of time said, ``We want you to train.'' At some point I said,
``Well, I guess I better make this a career.''
Senator Isakson. The reason I ask that is if all of us had
the control that the United States Army has over their
soldiers, we could get everybody trained pretty fast because
you cannot say no, and you take orders or you get in trouble.
That is a good thing to learn.
But I noticed you are a published author on five books on
workforce development. You have done a lot of workforce
development for companies.
Are most of the companies that you have done workforce
development for the employees or those companies that are doing
the workforce development?
Mr. Johnson. I am sorry. Say that question?
Senator Isakson. Are most of the workforce development
programs, are they companies that use employees or companies
that use independent contractors?
Mr. Johnson. There is a blend. Most of the experience has
been with employees, but we are very recently looking to try to
create a path that begins with our nested contractors.
In our sites, we have what we call nested contractors.
These are contract organizations that have employees there and
they are there so consistently that oftentimes, our employees
do not know they are contractors because they are there all the
time.
We are now trying to create a stream that builds off of,
what one of my colleagues mentioned earlier, what starts with
our contractor organizations and blends over into employees for
BASF.
But it is a strategy that we work together to help then get
employees in the beginning stages, develop them, and move them
through the entire pipeline.
Senator Isakson. Well, you are getting me exactly where I
need to go with Mr. Holland.
Mr. Holland, I presume from your business and what you do--
and being somewhat familiar with your company in Atlanta,
Georgia--you use a lot of independent contractors, or do you
not?
Mr. Holland. Again, it depends on the segment of the
industry. Residentially, multifamily, it is entirely
independent contractors. I think when Mr. Johnson and I talk
about it, it is different.
When I say ``independent,'' I mean when the craft worker
themselves is classified as an independent contractor. We see
that as really disturbing and creeping into more and more of
the unlicensed trades. In my mind, it is the opposite of a
career path discussion.
Senator Isakson. Well, you are taking me exactly where I
want to go because unlicensed trades are what I want to talk
about a little bit.
Are not most of the people that you use in your
construction jobs licensed by the states for what they do?
Mr. Holland. There is a wide variety of licensing
requirements in the states. Texas, for example, requires the
HVAC trades to be licensed. A few others are. So it is quite a
range of requirements.
Senator Isakson. But plumbing, and electricians, and things
like that are not.
Mr. Holland. My understanding is they are pretty broadly
licensed and held to a higher standard.
Senator Isakson. My experience in Georgia, we had 37
different licenses in the state, and most of them were
everything from barbers, to electricians, to sheetrock, and all
that type of thing.
When you have independent contractors, the control over
what a person learns is basically what they need to do to get
the license to do the trade. After that, who they work for
depends on the enthusiasm of that employer or the person who
hires the independent contractor to get them to move forward in
terms of their training. But that is the way you build it one
way or another.
I think, Mr. Chairman, one thing we need to focus as we go
through this is what we can do through our states, and through
some of the programs we have developed in workforce
development, and things like that. See to it that the states
are bringing about more focus on apprenticeship as a
qualification for licensure or as a way to qualify for
licensure in a state. Sometimes that is where you breakthrough
to get those things included. I think that is very important to
do.
The last thing I want to say about apprenticeship, I hate
to pick out one company, but in Georgia we have a company
called Southwire, which is a major producer of cable in the
world. They developed a program called 12 For Life. They bring
in children who are off the streets, dropped out of school, do
not have a home; they are all homeless.
They give them training through an apprenticeship program,
qualify for a G.E.D., which is a substitute high school degree,
and then give them a job if they successfully finish the
program.
I hope as we go through this focus on apprenticeships, it
is being done more and more in a lot of different businesses,
we will create more opportunities. To not only being an
apprenticeship to learn your trade, but also that would be a
gateway for you to get a home, insurance, structure in your
life, and a way to become a permanent employee for somebody,
and really make a contribution in the community.
I appreciate all of you being here, appreciate what you all
do.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for the time.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Isakson.
Senator Murray.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I want to ask unanimous consent to enter a letter from the
National Electrical Contractors Association into the record.
The Chairman. So ordered.
Senator Murray. Thank you.
Thank you all for your testimony today. Ms. Vito, let me
start with you.
Across the country, there are men and women willing to work
hard to make it into the middle class, but they need
opportunities. They need opportunities for additional
education, job training, skills development.
At the same time, we have a lot of employers who are really
struggling to find workers with the skills and competencies
they need. We know that Registered Apprenticeships can really
help bridge that divide.
I am frustrated that the Administration seems unwilling to
focus on the success of the Registered program. Instead,
claiming that it is some how, quote, ``burdensome and
onerous.''
Now, the health care sector is not known for traditionally
using the Registered Apprenticeship model.
Share with us, why did the employers you work with choose
to participate in a Registered Apprenticeship program?
Ms. Vito. The employers in health care chose specifically
because they recognized what we call ``the school to practice
gap.''
There is a gap between what you can learn in the classroom.
And so, through structured, on the job instruction with the
advantage of a mentor, you gain new skills that you cannot
learn in the classroom.
Second, they recognized that even as you are learning, you
are delivering services. And so, they were willing to pay the
wage progression.
Through a series of conversations, they also understood
that the process of registration ensured that the competencies
were documented and that multiple employers recognized that
credential.
Senator Murray. Did any of them express concerns with the
burdens associated with that process?
Ms. Vito. I do think the role of the intermediary, our
industry partnership, is very useful in helping employers
navigate the registration process.
But they did not express a burden. What they understood,
and actually valued, was the process of working together with
workers from the occupation itself and the employers to
document those competencies in order to apply for the
registration.
Senator Murray. Now, labor unions are often talked about
being impediments to expanding industry-focused training
programs. Yet, these same unions have actually created and
expanded the Registered Apprenticeship program as we know it
today.
Labor unions also continue to make major investments, we
know, into workforce training and apprenticeships. And as I
mentioned in my opening statement, building trades, for
example, invest over $1 billion a year in apprenticeships and
journey level training.
Instead of attempting to bypass this system, I think we
should be complimenting the unions' investments and leveraging
their experience in creating high quality programs.
I wanted to ask you, as the Executive Director of a very
large labor management workforce intermediary, can you tell us
about the important role that you see unions play in creating
high quality workforce programs?
Ms. Vito. I think they play a very important role. The
first is working through the worker protections.
As I have said, sort of repeatedly, the workers provide a
service--in some cases, community health, like working with
clients is one example--provide a service and the unions help
ensure that the workers are adequately paid for that service.
So they are working and learning at the same time.
Senator Murray. Not being misused.
Ms. Vito. Then there are not abuses in the system.
The second part that unions provide, which I think is not
as well understood, is by bringing in the worker voice, the
people who are doing it. The managers do not do carpentry.
Managers do not do community health work or medical coding. It
is the workers themselves.
In our industry, the union and workers are committed to the
quality of care. They bring that collaboration with the
employer to understand, ``What do you need to do this job
well?'' Define those competencies, provide the mentors, and
provide the worker voice that is so valuable as the on the job
learning takes place.
Senator Murray. Now, in your written testimony, you cited
concerns with expanding the apprenticeship model in a way that
would create duplicative programming, lower quality, less
rigorous standards than the Registered Apprenticeship program.
You said a lower quality system would not adequately train
participants, provide for worker protections, or provide
credentials employers and apprentices can trust.
Knowing that Registered Apprenticeships are the gold
standard today of training for workers and employers, what
would be some of the consequences of diluting the Registered
Apprenticeship system and training model?
Ms. Vito. The consequences would be that the employers and
workers would not know what they were getting. Work-based
learning strategies are valuable, but Registered
Apprenticeship, we know what we are getting.
We know also most employers are very honorable, but there
are some employers that do abuse systems like this. And so, an
unpaid apprenticeship where people are actually delivering a
service is not a direction we want to go in.
We want to have the balance between quality and protection
for workers. I think calling a Registered Apprenticeship
something that it is not will dilute that confidence that
people have in the system.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Murray.
Senator Cassidy.
Senator Cassidy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. King, I enjoyed your models. Good testimony. Even I
could follow the LEGO.
Senator Murray just posed a question of Ms. Vito along the
lines of Registered Apprenticeships are the gold standard for
quality. But you suggested that they are static, constrictive,
and actually do a disservice to the apprentice. I am just
following up.
Are Registered Apprenticeships the gold standard or do you
feel not?
Mr. King. I think apprenticeship in its basic form is the
gold standard, but whether it is registered or not registered
that all depends on innovation and the individual designs of
the companies.
Apprenticeship in its basic form, yes. But to say
registered is the gold standard, I am not so certain of that.
I went through the Registered Apprenticeship system, and it
worked for me. It took me out of an extremely poor neighborhood
and it moved me into the middle class. So I have all the love
for it. But it has not changed with the innovation that we see
today.
Senator Cassidy. Now, Ms. Vito, you suggested it has not
changed. I am from health care and I will say, I technically
still teach medical residents, and some are in an
apprenticeship program. There is a certain dynamism.
If there is a new procedure that comes along, I will take
the young resident and show he or she the new procedure. But I
can also accept that there are some things that have been set
in a way and do not change.
Is that not true? Is Mr. King's analogy of the LEGO's in
place and unable to be moved not sometimes true of a Registered
Apprenticeship? Knowing that health care might be different
because I do think there is a certain dynamism that is
reflected as we teach health care.
Ms. Vito. I think the dynamism of health care is reflected
in the registration process, and I also think it is very
important to recognize the strides that have been made to
improve the administration of the Registered Apprenticeships.
It is one of the reasons that we were able to register them in
health care.
First, the U.S. Department of Labor has added a competency
based model. That is the mechanism under which most of our
health care apprenticeships are registered.
Second, the technical assistance that has been offered
through the Department of Labor has enriched the process, so
that the dynamism and the quality are incorporated into the
registration process.
We have not found it rigid, but rather have found real
value.
Senator Cassidy. Outside of health care, though, let me
just go to Mr. Johnson, outside of health care, is there
rigidity within, as Mr. King suggests, within the Registered
Apprenticeship program?
Mr. Johnson. I think it stems from a perception of the
burdensome aspect of apprenticeships. I am not saying that the
different models that are out there and that are available
through the D.O.L. I love the performance based model that the
D.O.L. has come out with. But there is a general perception, at
least by a large amount of the business organizations, that it
is burdensome.
Now, whether it is or it is not, that is the perception,
and perception is reality in the eye of the beholder until you
change that. So it is something you have to overcome in a
narrative one way or the other.
Senator Cassidy. In your written testimony, you seem to
suggest it is more than a perception. It is a reality that the
burdensome nature of it, or maybe it was Mr. Holland, that if
one piece of paper was not completed all this application went
for naught, et cetera.
Mr. Johnson. Right.
Senator Cassidy. There is a bureaucratic aspect which works
against the employer.
Mr. Johnson. There absolutely is and that affected a number
of employers, not just BASF, and hundreds of potential trainers
that literally got stopped by one piece of paper.
Senator Cassidy. Let me compliment you, because I am aware
that BASF in my State of Louisiana is a pathway, as Mr. King
suggested, to the middle class for many folks.
Mr. King, does the IRAP process that you are working on,
does that address this bureaucratic, cumbersome, one piece of
paper was not filled out, all this effort is wasted, that Mr.
Johnson speaks of?
Mr. King. It is still in the works, but yes, I believe that
we are on a pathway to mitigate against those types of
restrictions.
Senator Cassidy. Mr. Johnson, one more thing. You spoke in
your testimony about Germany and how they integrate the thing.
Now, I will say that I have been to high schools in
Louisiana in which, in the senior year, a young person can take
E.M.T. courses and graduate as a certified E.M.T.
In their high school, they can take welding, sponsored by
A.B.C., by the way, that bought the equipment and they are
taking welding classes and they graduate. Perhaps not as a
master welder, but as a welder who can then use that as a
platform to put the LEGO's on to go to more training. So it
does seem that there is a way to integrate that.
How can we do more of that?
Mr. Johnson. I think we already are. Whenever BASF,
whenever we dug deeply into the different types of models that
are out there, we separated into two different types of
American apprenticeships.
What we refer to as the traditional American apprenticeship
that did not always, or at least not very often, use community
colleges as a foundation for skill building.
The new American apprenticeships, what I call ``modern,''
utilizes that and does all of the things in the performance
based apprenticeship model that the D.O.L. has come out with.
I do not want to say, I do not want to let my testimony
only say that it was a hard enough hit against Registered
Apprenticeships. We are not pursuing it. We absolutely are. We
want them to be because we want those national credentials. We
want that value to come along with the programs that we
develop.
But we are going to design what the workforce needs, what
the students need, what the future workers need, what the
industries need. Then we are going to take that, which is our
next step, literally within the next week or so, we are taking
that model to the D.O.L. and saying, ``This is what we know to
be the answer. Our industry partners have come together and
decided what the competencies are.''
Senator Cassidy. Thank you very much. I am way over.
Thank you for your indulgence.
Senator Murray [presiding]. Thank you, Senator Cassidy.
The Chairman had to step out to another committee hearing
for just a few minutes. He will return.
Senator Bennet.
Senator Bennet. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I want to thank all of you for your testimony, and for your
work, and what you are doing. I really believe that this
project to mainstream apprenticeships in America is critical if
we are going to begin to lift wages again in this country.
If we are going to fill the gaps, as a former school
superintendent, fill the gaps between what children are
learning in high school and what they need to be able to do to
actually perform well in their job and earn a wage that is not
this, but it is this; that is the great promise of what you
represent. I just am very grateful that you are working on it,
even if you have different points of view and perspectives
about it.
Ms. Vito, I wanted to ask you, if you could share a little
bit in more detail with the Committee what the role of an
intermediary is? How it can help with these apprenticeship
programs, help find people, support people in the process of
becoming an apprentice.
Ms. Vito. Intermediaries bring people together, employers
and worker representatives, in the first instance, to
understand the industry need. The role of an apprenticeship, it
was a very rich and rigorous process where we went through what
the occupation did, essentially, and documented the
competencies.
Senator Bennet. Was the occupation within health care?
Ms. Vito. Seventeen occupations, so the one that I
facilitated myself was our first one, was community health
worker.
We brought people who were moving into using community
health workers and community health workers from the field
together to go through the process. What did you need to do and
learn in order to be able to do that job adequately?
The role of that intermediary and helping write the actual
application, I think, is a very important one, and precisely
what some of the U.S. Department of Labor contracts to support
the expansion support.
It is important to make sure that you are weighing the
quality, documenting the assessments, as well as the wage
progression, and bringing people together. Also make sure that
the competencies align to national industry standards.
Senator Bennet. Can you tell us what you mean by ``wage
progression''? What does that look like?
Ms. Vito. Built-in to an apprenticeship is the structure
that you learn in the classroom. You learn by hands-on. And
then you do, which means that you are actually performing work.
As you do more work and gain more skills, and you do more
work independently, you get an increase in wages. You start at
Wage X and by the end of the apprenticeship, you have a higher
wage.
That is a very important structure because it ensures that
you are being paid adequately for what you are doing, but also
brings people at the end of the apprenticeship into the middle
class.
Senator Bennet. To me, that is the whole game here. That is
how we should evaluate every cent of Federal money that we
spend is whether it is helping people move from being paid a
starvation wage or being paid a wage that can actually support
their family.
Mr. Johnson, and I will get back to you, Ms. Vito.
Mr. Johnson. Yes, the skills-based pay aspect of that is
essential if you are going to target retooling adults as I
refer to Veterans leaving the military or adults that have been
in a career for a while and it is just not working out the way
that they expected it to.
Usually retooling adults have established families. They
have established lives that they cannot just stop to go to
school and not have an income.
Apprenticeships allow for that skills-based progressive pay
so that as you learn, you earn more money. It is a perfect
connection between those that want to retool and industry that
needs to pay at a progressive level as they learn skills.
Senator Bennet. Ms. Vito, did you have a closing thought?
Ms. Vito. In my testimony, I shared the story of Destina,
who became a community health worker through apprenticeship.
Before the apprenticeship, she grew up very poor. She was
working in sporadic employment, but she ended at a $42,000 a
year job. She now has nine credits and she is headed off to
social work school.
Apprenticeship should support that movement into the middle
class, and a gateway to lifelong learning, and even higher
wages.
Senator Bennet. I thank the panel for your testimony.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Senator Murray. Thank you, Senator Bennet.
Senator Scott.
Senator Scott. Thank you very much.
Good morning to the panel. Thank you all for taking the
time and making the investment to be here.
One of the challenges that we have with one of the largest
economic expansions since 1854, I think we are in the third
longest expansion, which is good news. I think we have finally
gotten our regulatory environment at a responsible level, which
I think is really good news.
When you combine a very strong economy, an appropriate
level of regulations, the one pillar--there are three of them--
on making sure that our economic expansion continues is the
readiness of our workforce.
The necessity of understanding and appreciating ways to
recalibrate the workforce for the future is an important
ingredient to sustaining the long term success that we have had
recently.
In South Carolina, we have been able to come out with a
program, Apprenticeship Carolina, that has focused a lot of
time and energy on making sure that the workforce needs are
met. We have done that through tax credits and in a way to
provide employers with the incentive to take sometimes a second
look at the workforce that needs to be trained and developed so
that they are ready for the future workforce.
We have seen that folks who have participated in the
program have about a 97 percent approval. So it is well
received.
My question is how can tax credits help to spur
apprenticeship expansion, particularly among small businesses?
The good news is that in a bipartisan fashion, rather as
Senator Cory Booker and myself working on the LEAP program,
which is designed around the South Carolina model of a $1,500
tax credit based on age versus $1,000 tax credit based on a
younger age.
Can you all talk about the importance of using tax credits
as a way to spur apprenticeship expansion?
Mr. King. I think tax credits are definitely a way of
expanding, but I also come across some of my customers that I
work with in developing apprenticeship programs that if you can
show enough innovation to save or to be more productive, that
sometimes exceeds that credits that are coming out. But credits
are good. I mean, it is always attractive to offer the credits.
But I will give you an example with Raytheon's Missile
Systems Division where we looked at apprenticeship from an
unbiased approach. We just said, ``What will work for the
company?''
When we came up with a design, we looked to see if we could
fit it within a registered model, and it did not. It worked
better taking it outside. The innovation and the ROI on the
return was greater than any of the funding that would come back
if we were registered.
I do agree that tax credits work, but the innovation can
actually spur more growth.
Senator Scott. One arrow in the quiver is not necessarily a
panacea. Thank you.
Thoughts?
Mr. Holland. I think tax credits largely are a strong
message of support, but as was said previously, I think at the
end of the day, if we could do something to reduce any barriers
to quality training, be that existing regulation, then more
people would flock.
Employers should be highly motivated to train the
workforce. We cannot have the shortage we are talking about and
not have motivated employers.
I think there are already some barriers built in place that
would be cost effective to remove and make it easier for them
to access the solution as, I believe, everyone has talked about
here.
At the end of the day, we are talking about the outcome. I
think training is way past cost-neutral.
We try to be careful that people do not train because they
are going to get a tax credit when, in fact, they should have
their own self-interest in mind to do so.
Ms. Vito. Our industry, the employers that we work with are
largely nonprofit, so again, an arrow in a quiver.
But one thing that has been considered is a tax credit for
the mentors, or the folks who are the journey people, providing
the on-the-job instruction. So it would accrue to the people
who are taking time out of their lives to mentor people on the
job rather than to a nonprofit company.
Senator Scott. Thank you.
Mr. Johnson. The quick answer is I absolutely think that
they can be beneficial to help catalyze an additional movement.
But I think the most important thing that I can say today--
of all the things that I have said--is that it is not enough to
fund good education programs. We must eliminate the bad ones so
that we do not communicate to students about the wrong careers.
If we fund all of the right programs and all of the right
apprenticeships that are available, but we also fund degree
programs that have no job availability projection; whenever
students are making decisions about careers, they see Pell
Grants and other types of funding that is also available to
them to send them into directions that they are going to wind
up with a degree, but they cannot get a job.
It is just as important as funding good programs, we need
to be certain that educational dollars are based on job
availability projections.
Senator Scott. Thank you.
Senator Murray. Thank you.
Senator Smith.
Senator Smith. Thank you, Senator Murray.
Thank you so much to all of our panelists here. I know that
everyone on this Committee is very interested in
apprenticeships and how we can use them.
In Minnesota, for sure, our biggest limit to economic
growth is the gap that we have for people to fill the jobs that
are there. This is an opportunity gap, not only for the
businesses, but also, of course, for the workers who do not
have the opportunity to get the training that they need to fill
those jobs that are there. So that is why I am so interested in
this conversation.
When I first joined the Senate just a few months ago, I
held a whole series of listening sessions around the state to
talk about this issue of how we fill this opportunity gap.
Based on that, I have introduced legislation which is
focused on how to help get students into the kind of training
that they need, and especially how to prioritize partnerships
with schools and Registered Apprenticeship programs. Make that
linkage work better between schools, sometimes high schools and
Registered Apprenticeship programs. The whole goal is to make
sure that there is the kind of customized training that works
for students and for businesses.
Ms. Vito, could you talk a little bit about that? Can you
share your experience in how employers can use Registered
Apprenticeships in that way, especially around more customized
training?
Ms. Vito. Because of the quality of the instruction more
and more, some of the on the job learning can be attributed to
prior learning and then attributed to credit.
Also, there is a component of--again because of the quality
of the apprenticeship--there is a component of the classroom
instruction in our apprenticeships that are almost always
credited. In community health work, Destina, the person I
talked about, got nine credits to transfer. Our medical coding
apprenticeship, you graduate or you end the apprenticeship with
an Associate's Degree.
It is, again, because you are able to document those
competencies and the quality of the apprenticeship, it is easy
to partner and have that count toward college credit if you
find the right community college to work with.
Senator Smith. That kind of contributes to the portability
of the credential, not only on the academic side, but also on
the professional side.
Ms. Vito. That is right, because in addition to having a
portable, high quality credential in that occupation, you can
then transfer those credits to become something else.
In Destina's case, it is a social worker. Medical coders
can go into higher tech data analytics in health care, which
sometimes require a bachelor's degree.
Senator Smith. Right.
Ms. Vito. Transfer 60 credits into that occupation.
Senator Smith. It also seems like this can address one of
the other Catch-22's that I hear a lot, which is people being
frustrated that they cannot get a job because they do not have
the experience. But they also do not have the experience,
because they cannot get a job.
It is hard to figure out how to break into that in all
sorts of fields: in construction, technology, health care, the
whole gamut.
Ms. Vito. In the testimony, the written testimony, I talked
very specifically about that in medical coding. Our employers
were essentially raiding each other's experienced medical
coders and not creating new medical coders.
Senator Smith. It becomes kind of a zero sum.
Ms. Vito. We had so many people graduating from medical
coder programs who could not get jobs even though there was
this shortage. Filling that gap, what we call the school-to-
practice gap is precisely what apprenticeships, particularly
Registered Apprenticeships do.
Senator Smith. It also seems to me, the last thing I want
to touch on, is that in a world where we have this shortage of
skilled workers in a whole range of trades, building trades,
science and technology.
We also have the challenge that a lot of women, especially
young women in high school do not see that; they just do not
even visualize that as a career. Maybe they do not have
robotics in their high school because their high school does
not offer that. They just do not have the opportunity to
experience that in high school.
I have heard so many young women who have told me that just
getting exposed to those opportunities made a big difference to
them.
Could you just talk a little bit about how Registered
Apprenticeships address that issue for women?
Ms. Vito. Yes, if I can just make two points about that.
As we expand apprenticeships into more industries, we are
increasing the diversity. Eighty-eight percent of our
apprentices are women.
I think the second point that I would make, though, is if
we are moving apprenticeship into other industries that are
women and people of color dominated, we have to protect the
quality. We do not want to let a lesser system for women and
people of color.
Senator Smith. Thank you very much.
Senator Baldwin [presiding]. Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Senator.
Thanks to the panelists.
I am going to spend some time bragging about a great
Virginia apprenticeship program, which you might expect me to
do, and then I have a question for Mr. Johnson about something
you said that interested me.
In Virginia, the largest industrial employer is Huntington
Ingalls shipyard in Newport News; about 20,000 employees.
The centerpiece of the work that is done there is an
apprenticeship school that celebrates its centennial next year
in 2019. The apprentice school is a Registered Apprenticeship
program. The acceptance rate of applications into the
Apprenticeship program is more selective than Harvard College
undergraduate acceptance rate. It is really the gold standard
for apprenticeship programs in the country.
The interesting thing is if you graduate from the basic
apprenticeship program that is really hard to get into with
this Harvard acceptance rate, we do not count you as a Nation
as having a higher education degree because it is technical
education. I mean, it is just ridiculous. We do not count you
as having a higher education degree.
Sixty percent of those who go to this apprenticeship
program already have some college or a college degree when they
go, but the basic 3-year program, we do not count you in this
Nation the way we measure higher education as having a higher
education degree. It is nuts.
Students are paid to go to the school. They are paid to go
part-time. They work part-time and eventually over the course
of the 3-years, they work more and more.
There is a job waiting for them upon graduation; 80 percent
retention rate 10 years later after graduation. The average
starting salary of a grad is $81,000.
The apprenticeship school is stackable too. So the 3-year
degree is sort of a basic degree, but they have advanced
apprenticeship programs that go anywhere form five to 8 years
and result in an associate's or a bachelor's degrees.
The school always keeps up with technology. In fact, it is
part of a commitment by Huntington Ingalls more broadly than
just the apprenticeship school.
Huntington Ingalls spends $80 million a year to train
employees. They have about 20,000 employees, so that is just
$4,000 per year per employee to train, and that includes the
apprenticeship, but other programs they do.
They retrain senior workers on new technologies. They
rotate employees through different departments in the company
to give them leadership opportunities. They partner with pre-K
programs because they know that some of the shipbuilders that
are going to be building ships are in pre-K right now.
They have an award winning career pathways programs in the
Hampton Roads area for children in the 6th to 12th grade. They
do teacher internships to bring teachers in because they are
worried about our children getting a stigma that manufacturing
or career technical is not the same as going to college.
They are bringing teachers in to get excited about this
work that is sophisticated. There is nothing built on the
planet Earth that is more sophisticated than a nuclear
submarine or a nuclear aircraft carrier and it is a patriotic
profession. You want to get people excited about it.
They even do pre-hiring training programs in local
community colleges in certain disciplines where they will train
you in skills, and they put about 400 people through these pre-
hiring programs, and then 94 percent of them have been hired.
But I think it is an interesting example of a 100 year old
Registered Apprenticeship program, but that has completely kept
up with the times, and that has adjusted, and moved along with
it and new technologies. And not just for new workers, but
training existing workers.
I am very, very proud of them and I think it is a superb
model; excited about this centennial.
Mr. Johnson, right at the end of your testimony, I was
really excited. You said, ``We are designing. We have had this
stakeholder session and we are kind of designing what
apprenticeships might look like in the future.'' You are about
to take that to D.O.L. It is like I wish we had the hearing 2
weeks from now, and you would have come in and presented what
you just presented.
But talk a little bit about what it is that you are hearing
and what it is that you are going to be presenting to the
Department.
Mr. Johnson. I had a conversation with a member from the
D.O.L. a few weeks ago. We were in New Jersey at the Governors
Workforce Development Roundtable.
This idea that we have for sequence apprenticeships
utilizing a sequence of scholarships and internships,
``internships'' plural, is a key part of that because then we
get a lot more on-the-job training. It begins with a couple of
scholarships for our first two semesters when we do an
internship and so forth.
The problem with that is in the very beginning of that, it
might not be considered a hire until we get closer to the end.
Once we get closer to the end, they become a hire, and the
progressive, skills-based, performance-based pay that is a part
of that role, starts to kick-in.
My worry is--because I do not know every single model that
is out there and the number of different pieces of policy that
are coming out about it--can we get this thing to be
registered? We want it to be.
In the conversations that I had with him on the sidewalk
after that meeting was that he feels very confident that can
happen. And so, those meetings are coming up.
The bottom line is that we are going to design what we
think is valuable, not just to the organization, but to the
students themselves. We do not want a credential that is just
going to be valuable in BASF. That is not fair to the students
or the retooling adults.
We want a model that is going to solve the problem and that
we can portably replicate across North America into our
different sites. If we can do it in a few small sites like we
are now, or at least starting to put in places the pieces to
get that done, but if we want to scale this as big as we want
across North America and include our industry partners as we
have in our first ten pieces, then we are going to need
support. We are going to want that to be a registered program.
That is the whole idea is to bring that finished program to
the D.O.L. and say, ``This is what we need. This is how many
industry partners have agreed this is what we need. This is the
competency modeling we have already created. This is the school
we are working with. Here is the survey that we did to decide
what are the critical crafts for that region.''
We know the jobs are in need. We know the competencies. We
know how we want to teach them. We have industry support behind
it. How can we fit this into the model?
Senator Kaine. If I could just, as I close, because I am
over time, I am very excited about the way you describe it.
Particularly, you do not want it to just be valuable to BASF.
You want it to be more than that.
We are going to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. We
ought to be focused in that Act on making career and technical
education every bit as much valued as a college degree.
We have apprenticeships or other career opportunities that
are more just for the employer, but they are not credentialed
at a national level that is validated and understood, we will
continue to have two class system.
We have to be elevating career impact. Right, Madam
Chairman?
Thank you.
Senator Baldwin. Senator Jones.
Senator Jones. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Thanks to all of our panelists today for the work you are
doing.
Mr. King, I would like to ask you a question. I am still
kind of new to the Senate here. One of the things that I have
seemed to observe with the Administration--and Senator Murray
alluded to the press conferences of the big issues with
executive orders--it also seems to me that sometimes the way
the Administration also refers to the past. In other words,
anything that has been built in the past is not good, that they
can do it and build it better in a new one.
I am curious as to whether the taskforce even looked at
trying to update and make changes to the Registered Apprentice
program. The reason I say that is because I think everybody
understands that everything like this is a work in progress. As
we change as a society and as a workforce, there are things
that we can do better.
But it almost appears to me that you took your models there
and I noticed the one that you have representing the
apprenticeship program seems pretty solid, but it is also made
of LEGO's. Correct? And LEGO's are made to be moved, the pieces
moved, to change. You can build on them. You can add to them.
You can take them away. You can do the things.
I am curious. Did your taskforce even look or talk to the
folks about maybe trying to update, and modernize, and cut down
on some of the regulations that, I think, everybody is
concerned about including me? As opposed to trying, and taking
this, and completely a duplicative process, and a duplicative
program, and not trying to work with the gold standard that we
have had that has been so successful for 80 years?
Mr. King. The conception of IRAP, I am not sure exactly
what was done prior, but in our sessions, we did focus on what
we could do differently.
I will say within the registered system, as you see, it is
LEGO's, and it should be able to change. But when you talk
about Mr. Johnson, you are coming out with a great model that
works, and you have to present it to D.O.L. to say, ``This
works. Let us make it work.'' But it is like moving a mountain.
Senator Jones. Well, it is the same Administration, though.
If the Administration wants to do it, they can do it. We have
seen that happen time and time again. If they want to move the
mountain, all they have to do is get Donald Trump to sign an
order and that mountain gets moved.
I appreciate the answer, though. I am just concerned that
we are taking a program and trying to do something duplicative
that is not going to protect the workers. It is not going to
get the expansion of the apprenticeship programs, while we
could have taken something and done the innovative things that
we looked at.
But thank you very much.
Yes, sir. Go ahead.
Mr. Johnson. What I would say to that is that you
absolutely want a working knowledge of the existing programs
that are in place while you try to brainstorm for a repair or a
fix.
But too often organizations see a piece of policy or a
funding mechanism and think, ``How do I design something to fit
within that?'' and that is the wrong approach. Because you wind
up putting pieces of your model together that are based upon
alignment and not upon whether or not it is valuable to the
system, valuable to the organizational groups, or valuable to
the students that are trying to learn.
Yes, a working knowledge of everything that is going on so
that you are aware of that, so you know what all of these
pieces you come up with are aligned with. But you really do
need to start with: what do we need?
Senator Jones. I agree.
Mr. Johnson. Come up with that first.
Senator Jones. Yes.
Mr. Johnson. Now, let us see, is it aligned? If so, we are
good. If not, let us work on getting it aligned.
Senator Jones. Right, and I think that would have been
perfect. With the attitude of this Administration, they could
have done that easily.
Ms. Vito, let me ask you real quick in the time that I have
left. I appreciate the fact that there are so many women that
are coming into these programs. There are still some
disparities, I think, and we need to get more African Americans
in there, more minorities.
I think some of the statistics I have seen, show that there
is also a disparity, not in just the numbers, but in also the
wages of folks coming out of this.
What can we do better with the Registered Apprenticeship
program to make sure that the wages are equal? They are equal
for women. They are equal for minorities.
Ms. Vito. Thank you for that question, Senator.
Let me start by saying that 61 percent of the apprentices
in the H-CAP health care occupations are people of color.
To go back to the point that you are asking around quality,
if we create a lesser system or a side system, and we are
moving into new industries at the same time without those wage
progression protections, we are guaranteed to create any
further wage disparities.
I think that is one of the reasons to protect the quality
and the rigorous registration process, which our experience is
not an impediment, but forces the joint apprenticeship
councils, workers, and employers together to think through the
quality initiatives, which overcome the issues of wage
disparity.
Thank you for asking that question, Senator Jones.
Senator Jones. Yes, but thank you for your answers; pretty
much what I was looking for.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman [presiding]. Thank you, Senator Jones.
Senator Hassan.
Senator Hassan. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank you and Ranking Member Murray for holding
this hearing.
I also want to thank you for your work along with Senators
Casey and Enzi to pass the reauthorization of the Career and
Technical Education Act. This Committee continues to be an
example of really commonsense, bipartisan leadership.
I am happy to be here at this hearing to discuss the
importance of apprenticeships and how we can ensure that these
programs meet the needs of program participants and employers,
something that, I think, you have all been unified in talking
about today.
To Ms. Vito, I want to start with this. One of the
rationales that the Administration has provided to create a
whole new apprenticeship program alongside the Registered
Apprenticeship model is related to the challenges of the
Registered Apprenticeship model to serve nontraditional
apprenticeship industries like health care and manufacturing.
In New Hampshire, using an Apprenticeship USA State
Expansion Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, the
ApprenticeshipNH program has partnered with more than 20
employers to train apprenticeships in a whole range of fields.
In addition, many of these programs offer postsecondary
credits that students may use to achieve a more advanced degree
going forward ensuring that individuals are on that lifelong
career pathway that we all want them to be able to have.
I recently visited one of these employers in Manchester,
New Hampshire, Granite State Manufacturing that offers a
Registered Apprenticeship program that trains employees to
become machinists.
These apprentices take classes for credit at Nashua
Community College, receiving 20 credits toward machine tool
technology, CNC programming certificate, and/or the Associate
of Science Degree in precision manufacturing.
Ms. Vito, I know you have worked with more nontraditional
fields yourself, specifically in health care, and you have
explained already today how the Registered Apprenticeship model
has benefits for employers and apprentices.
Can you just take a minute, though, to talk some more about
how you think the model of Registered Apprenticeships can
expand to more sectors?
Ms. Vito. Thank you, Senator, for the question.
First, I think we have to acknowledge the changes that have
been made that have helped expand it.
The competency-based model was what allowed health care
apprentices to be registered and that is a model that has been
embraced by the U.S. Department of Labor. Rather than just
rewarding seat time, it is the acquisition of skills and
demonstrated proficiency.
Second, the multi-state registration has allowed us to
register things that scale that you might not have in one
location.
Then the technical assistance grants, which you just talked
about, have actually provided the opportunity for
intermediaries, and employers, and unions to work together to
build the capacity.
I want to just note that there was a piece of legislation
called the EARNS Act in 2016, bipartisan legislation,
introduced by Ranking Member Murray and Senator Hatch. It
provided for:
The official establishment of the Office of Apprenticeship;
Competitive grants to build more capacity;
Increasing the awareness of employers; I think it was said
earlier, not by me, that there was misconception about how
difficult the process is. It may be a rigorous process, but
still one open to employers; and,
Effective evaluation and other parts.
The EARNS Act, again, 2 year old legislation would help to
expand this to nontraditional industries.
Senator Hassan. Thank you.
I also just wanted to move to the area of health care for
just a minute. You described in your earlier testimony the
story of Destina Garcia, who participated in the community
health care worker apprenticeship program in New York City. She
is on her way to a college degree. She is earning a living
wage.
As you know, we are facing a workforce shortage across the
health care sector. One of those shortages in one of those
sectors that is very personal to me is the shortage of direct
support professionals who provide care to our seniors and
individuals who experience disabilities.
In New Hampshire, we estimate that 70 to 80 percent of paid
hands-on care for older adults and individuals who experience
disabilities is provided by direct care workers, including
personal care aides, home health aides, and nursing assistants.
The demand for direct care workers is expected to increase
49 percent between now and 2022, further exacerbating a
workforce shortage that already exists in many communities
across the country.
At the beginning of this year, ApprenticeshipNH launched a
pilot home health aide Registered Apprenticeship with senior
helpers in Stratham, New Hampshire, in collaboration with Great
Bay Community College. Now, there are a total of three of these
programs.
I realize I am running out of time, so I just wanted to
quickly ask you to comment on how Registered Apprenticeships
support participants like Ms. Garcia? And do you believe these
programs are an important mechanism to address workforce
shortages, particularly for direct support professionals and
throughout the health care sector?
Ms. Vito. I know we are out of time, but let me just make
two points.
One, home care workers are important sources of recruitment
because they are diverse and they have a set of incredible
skills, what we call patient centeredness that are important
for other occupations. So they are often apprenticed in other
occupations, which sometimes keeps them in the health industry
longer.
The second, in the actual home care occupation itself, one
strategy that we have used in the Registered Apprenticeship,
that I think you are discussing, is enhancing the skills of the
home health aide to do more of what is needed in health care,
like prevent avoidable hospitalizations.
As you use apprenticeships with a mentor, on the job
learning, you also can increase the wages of the home health
worker in that model and help retain the workers in the
industry.
Senator Hassan. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your indulgence.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Hassan.
Senator Baldwin.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank the witnesses and I know you have heard a
lot of support for apprenticeships among the bipartisan Members
of this Committee. Certainly, we have heard a lot from the
Administration focusing on expanding apprenticeships.
As I hear the back and forth, I hope that in an effort to
resolve the challenges that we are seeing with the skills gap
and creating greater opportunities for well paying jobs for our
constituents, that we are able to resolve some of the
challenges without abandoning or turning our back on Registered
Apprenticeships, which many have referred to as the gold
standard or in alternative terms. But yet, we want to recognize
the real issues that folks on the ground have had in expanding
opportunities or creating novel, new apprenticeships.
I think of Wisconsin, we have a lot of small and medium
sized businesses that would love to be doing more. We have some
really great examples of public-private partnerships that have
been created in sectors to make it easier for those businesses
to offer apprenticeships.
I have had a chance to meet with a number of them and hear
the creative things that they are doing.
One important element is often the intermediary. I know you
have already gotten some questions, Ms. Vito, about how the
intermediary helps different entities who are key to creation
of new apprenticeships or expanding apprenticeships navigate
the complexities.
But I would like you to just say how do you support
employers, in particular, smaller and medium sized employers in
doing so?
Ms. Vito. Intermediaries work to support employers by
aggregating knowledge and demand. Some of the apprenticeships
that are listed here are with small community-based health
organizations.
By working with multiple employers, you can aggregate
demand. As I said before, document the competencies, register
the apprenticeship. But I think equally important is you can
work with two or three people at one employer and two or three
people at another employer, thereby aggregating and creating
industry standards.
I also think another important role of the intermediaries
is supporting the workers to make sure there is completion,
which ultimately benefits the employers because they gain the
skilled workforce.
Senator Baldwin. I have introduced a measure called the
PARTNERS Act, which I hope as this Committee works moving
forward to expand apprenticeships, that we can discuss. It is
focused specifically on these sector and industry partnerships
to help small and medium sized businesses.
But also the point that you just concluded with, Ms. Vito,
of perhaps helping underrepresented groups have these
opportunities. And so, it also looks at the possibility of pre-
apprenticeships, and child care, and transportation issues to
make them as successful an opportunity as possible.
I want to submit a couple of documents for the record,
letters, Mr. Chairman. A letter from the Wisconsin Dairy
Grazing Apprenticeship and two letters from the Sheet Metal and
Air Conditioning Contractors National Association, and the
Construction Employers of America, which includes their 15,000
signatory contractors and 1.4 million employees that I would
like to submit this for the hearing record.
While asking that unanimous consent, I did want to read one
paragraph from the Wisconsin Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship
program.
The closing paragraph, written by Executive Director Joseph
Tomandl, ``As a former vocational agricultural instructor, and
current dairy farmer, it would make the most sense to refine
any inefficiencies with Registered Apprenticeships rather than
create a separate standard of industry recognized
apprenticeships. On my farm, I repair and modernize rather than
duplicate.''
Mr. Chairman, may I submit those for the record?
The Chairman. So ordered.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you very much.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Baldwin, and thank you for
your courtesy in presiding for a while today while I went to
the Appropriations hearing.
Mr. King, Mr. Holland, Ms. Vito, and Mr. Johnson, thank you
so much for being here today. You can tell from the large
participation by Senators, this is a topic we think is
important, and you have helped us as we think about oversight
for current programs and legislation that might affect future
programs.
The hearing record will remain open for 10 business days.
Members may submit additional information and questions to our
witnesses for the record within that time, if they would like.
The next meeting of the full Committee will be on next
Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at 10 a.m. on, ``Reducing Health Care
Costs.'' The subject will be, ``Decreasing Administrative
Spending.''
Thank you for being here today.
The Committee will stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:32 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
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