Program highlight

Community Partners come together to fuel the economy through apprenticeship programs

Submitted by Miami-Dade College

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department at Miami Dade College (MDC) has been immersed in developing and promoting CTE programs including apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs. Partnering with Bean Automotive Group, Career Source South Florida and the Miami-Dade Beacon Council Miami Community Ventures, to pioneer the Automotive Technician Specialist Registered Apprenticeship Program was the jumpstart to an active fiscal year. In addition to the seven active MDC Registered Apprenticeship Programs managed by CTE, two additional programs are in development: H-VAC Pre-Apprenticeship and Teacher Assisting Apprenticeship. These programs offer numerous opportunities to our students who are eager to learn and earn an income within one of the multiple career pathways. Whether virtual or face-to-face, our efforts to participate in nationwide workforce celebrations has been enduring and gratifying. November 15th – 19th, 2021 was National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) and MDC Apprenticeship employer partners were honored during our Employer Convening at the Eduardo J. Padrón Campus. February 1, 2022 initiated the commencement of February as CTE Month. The proclamation from Governor Ron DeSantis encouraged much needed acclamation towards not only our department, but also workforce within the whole State of Florida. In celebration of CTE Month, our department came together to advertise our 200+ workforce programs campus and communitywide, and organized various CTE related activities. Our Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) CTE Day and CTE Faculty Exchange Day both engaged in teaching the essence of workforce and how our CTE department contributes to Florida’s workforce demand. Our CTE Speaker Series concluded CTE Month, featuring representatives from OIC of South Florida, Kaseya, City of Miami, and FedEx, whom all spoke on serving our community through workforce and how students can prepare themselves efficiently for any employer. This brought emphasis on CTE being an integral part of the nation’s future in workforce.

Our CTE department currently manages seven FDOE and USDOL grants, equaling to approximately $8 million dollars: FDOE Pathways to Career Opportunities, FDOE Carl Perkins, USDOL Scaling Apprenticeships, Apprenticeship State Expansion (ASE) FACTE Mini-Grant, American Association of Community College (AACC) Expanding Community College Apprenticeships, Get There Faster WIOA, and Open Door. All are targeted towards creating a pathway for students to earn as they learn in high-demand workforce industries. Those individuals who are considered incumbent, unemployed, underemployed, or furloughed are being given a great opportunity to acquire skills to ultimately obtain a profession. Also, these grants are just as equally beneficial to our employers and the college in terms of retention and marketing. All in all, whether it’s dealing with apprenticeships, CTE programs, and or numerous grant funding, the MDC CTE department is continuously hard at work.