Overview
Registered apprenticeships are industry-driven, high-quality career pathways that allow employers to develop and prepare their future workforce. ACC students in apprenticeships receive paid work experience alongside classroom instruction that leads to industry-recognized credentials.
Accomplishments
- Since fall 2021, ACC has partnered with 25 industry partners to create 150 student apprentice opportunities in 10 occupation titles within six ACC departments. The Apprenticeship Program provides ACC with an opportunity to increase cross-functional collaboration and provides a pathway to upward mobility for our students. Apprenticeship opportunities exist in Accounting, Administrative Office Assistant, Advanced Manufacturing, Automotive, Healthcare (Patient Care Technician, Medical Assistant, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technician), and Veterinary Assistant.
- The Texas is IT (TXIT) Department of Labor grant has partnered with 13 industry employers for the purpose of employing students as apprentices within the area of IT. To date, 44 IT apprentices and 117 IT pre-apprentices have been/are being served by the grant.
- Established ACC as a Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeships Sponsor.
- Registered, monitored, and tracked eight cohorts of students for a total of 73 completed healthcare apprenticeships.
- Provide related training instruction for Samsung, Applied Materials, and Inferion company-based registered advanced manufacturing apprenticeships.
- Established the Certified Veterinary Assistant DOL Registered Apprenticeship with 20 active apprentices hired by over 10 veterinary hospital systems.
- Implemented the CNC Machine Operator apprenticeship (Manufacturing) with Austin Regional Manufacturing Association (ARMA) in January 2023 with its inaugural class of seven apprentices.
- Created the ACC Apprenticeship marketing campaign with tools including a website, monthly newsletter subscription, social media presence (LinkedIn), posters, and fliers.
- Built an apprenticeship tracking database system for all apprentices and employers in multiple departments/occupations.
- Developed an Accounting Technician Registered Apprenticeship and piloted the program starting spring 2023.
Impact
This work matters because research shows that incorporating experiential learning into academic courses enhances student learning outcomes. Below is a short list of impact outcomes:
- Helps students explore whether they are suited to a particular setting and/or career path
- Students have found professional benefits after college such as greater job satisfaction
- Students gain significantly higher confidence in goal setting and goal attainment
- Teaches students how to apply theory and improves their reasoning skills
- Increased student readiness for self-directed learning and self-confidence
- Personal, civic, and professional development and increased working relationships and collaboration among faculty and students
- Help students gain employment such as professional networking contacts
The program’s impact on students includes the permanent hiring of more students in their respective industries. Since the establishment of Apprenticeships at ACC, more than 150 students have been hired as apprentices by industry partners.
Next Steps
- Develop a Veterinary Technician (college credit) ACC sponsored apprenticeship
- Obtain Workforce Non-traditional Occupation Grant funds to enhance/upscale the Veterinary Assistant, Business Operations, and IT industry Registered Apprenticeships
- Plan, implement, and organize a ACC-sponsored social media/marketing Registered Apprenticeship
- Hire Apprenticeship office staff for employer outreach/database support
- Create testimonials/success stories series for marketing and outreach
- Develop an ACC in-house apprenticeship program in the Help Desk, Office Support, and Accounting occupations
- Launch a software database that can facilitate the data collection for increased apprenticeship programs and opportunities