Below are the new grants AJAC has been awarded over the last 3 months and the partnerships we have forged with local and national organizations.
City of Seattle Office of Economic Development: AJAC partnered with the Seattle Public Schools Skills Center and South Seattle College in a successful application to the City of Seattle for resources that will support AJAC youth apprentices at the Seattle Skills Center at Rainier Beach High School, and to promote CTE, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship pathways to Seattle high school students.
National Fund for Workforce Solutions: AJAC partnered with the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County in a successful application for a two-year $125,000 On-the-Job Training grant from the National Fund. The OJT grant provides a wage supplement for up to 50% of the first 200 hours of training to companies who hire MA completers and put them directly into apprenticeship, with a focus on women, people of color, veterans and opportunity youth.
Women in Apprenticeship and Non-Traditional Occupations (WANTO): AJAC partnered with the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership in a successful application to the US Department of Labor for a 1-year WANTO grant focused on promoting pre-apprenticeship programs and apprenticeship pathways to women. Through the grant, WRTP will support a multi-state initiative focused on improving women enrollments into/persistence in apprenticeship programs, providing $75,000 to AJAC in support of these efforts.
Career Connect Washington Intermediary Grants: AJAC successfully partnered on two CCW applications with the South Central Workforce Council and Spokane Workforce Council. The SCWC grant will support a Central Washington apprenticeship coordinator conducting joint business outreach with SCWC staff and building AJAC program capacity across South and North Central Washington. It will also support curriculum development efforts focused on identifying at least 1 new occupation for food processing/ agricultural companies (who are making up an increasingly larger share of training agent partners in this region). The Spokane grant focuses on building business engagement and youth apprenticeship program capacity across the Spokane region.
