Under S2C, MD increases apprenticeship rates.

Under Skills2Compete, Maryland Increases Apprenticeship Outcomes by 28 Percent

As part of Governor Martin O’Malley’s credential measurement effort under the Skills2Compete-Maryland initiative—a statewide effort to expand skills training by 20 percent by 2012—the Apprenticeship Maryland Program recently announced the graduation of 1,457 apprentices in Fiscal Year 2011, a 28 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2010.

The Apprenticeship Maryland Class of 2011 is the largest since 1991 and among the most diverse. Through creative outreach and education, Apprenticeship Maryland has worked collaboratively with partners in state government, private sector organizations, the labor community and higher education to promote apprenticeship and training opportunities to jobseekers and employers; identify avenues to expand opportunities to earn and learn; and expand skills training to more Marylanders. 

The O’Malley Administration has set a goal of growing the number of workers prepared for middle- and high-skilled jobs by increasing the number of Marylanders who receive skills training through the state’s workforce system by 20 percent by 2012. Skills2Compete-Maryland provides a single, overarching theme for Governor O’Malley’s existing workforce policies of expanding employment opportunities, enhancing and upgrading skills to meet the needs of business, and creating pathways to earn a decent wage. It focuses state agencies, community colleges, local workforce investment boards, apprenticeship programs, and other stakeholders on increasing postsecondary participation and completion rates, and measures agencies progress towards this goal. Read more.