MY WIFE AND I moved to Arkansas for the third time six years ago, and every time we’ve landed here, I’ve been more and more—and more—impressed with the energy and effectiveness of this state’s investment in, and focus on, workforce development.

I’m especially getting an up-close look at that energy and focus this time around. As a small nonprofit “intermediary” between employer skills demand and the talent pipeline, Apprenticely works closely with all of our higher education institutions, the state agencies within the Department of Commerce, and our diverse talent resources. From all of those interactions, I’ve learned a few serious lessons: First, none of us can provide the necessary outcomes in a vacuum; in Arkansas, workforce is a high priority and there’s great deal of very focused and intentional investment in achieving results and outcomes every single day. Second, our state has some real industry sector leaders in retail, logistics, steel manufacturing, and now lithium—just to name a few; the companies in those sectors all need competencies and skills to maintain and grow their businesses. And third, Apprenticely’s vision and mission is to help fill those career opportunities with Arkansans.

There are multiple pathways to obtaining one of those career opportunities, and we’re just one of those pathways. A Registered Apprenticeship Program provides “the bridge” that can connect talented workers with far-sighted employers who select the right individuals—people with potential and passion—who will learn their companies’ business, add value, and stay. So far, we at Apprenticely have applied our proven workforce strategy through our work with 170 Arkansas employers and talented Arkansans trained in 40 different apprenticeship programs.

That’s impressive, but it’s still a work in progress—our goal is to double both of those numbers over the next 12 months. So we’ll be sprinting between now and the start of the 2024 holidays, marked by this year’s National Apprenticeship Week beginning November 17th.

Over the coming months, we urge you to keep an eye out for various statewide events supporting apprenticeship as a supplemental workforce strategy, and we hope you’ll attend and participate. In the meantime, send your big ideas to us at www.apprenticely.org and let’s see how we might work together to make them happen.

Bill Yoder,
Executive Director