As local leaders gather for NLC’s City Summit in Tampa, the U.S. Department of Labor will be celebrating the 10th annual National Apprenticeship Week on November 17-23, 2024. National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) is an annual celebration of the impact and potential of apprenticeship. Bringing together labor and business leaders, educational institutions, jobseekers and local leaders across the country, NAW highlights how apprenticeship programs prepare a highly skilled and inclusive workforce in cities, towns and villages across the country!
City leaders have the opportunity to develop and sustain a thriving municipal workforce to support economic vitality and are adopting comprehensive strategies focused on recruitment, retention and community engagement to strengthen their workforce.
As of August 2024, local governments, excluding schools, employ over 6.8 million workers, surpassing the transportation and warehousing sector, but face significant workforce challenges, including competition for talent, lengthy hiring processes and a lack of qualified candidates. It takes local governments an average of 130 days to fill positions compared to 36 days in the private sector, leading to challenges in providing key services such as transit and public safety. A 2023 state and local government workforce survey indicates that more than half of human resources (HR) managers report having to frequently reopen positions because of a lack of qualified candidates. Additionally, a notable underrepresentation of BIPOC individuals and a high turnover intention among younger workers exacerbate these issues.
By addressing these challenges effectively, municipalities can enhance service delivery, create better job opportunities for residents and foster collaboration with the private sector, ultimately benefiting the entire community.
NLC is taking action to help municipalities expand earn-and-learn models like apprenticeships. In partnership with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), NLC will be offering technical assistance to cities interested in learning about and implementing Apprenticeship Programs as a local workforce development strategy. NLC and AIR will provide tools and resources to help cities partner with local apprenticeship intermediaries and/or develop new Apprenticeship Programs to fill critical vacancies in local government.
Ready to take action? Be sure to submit your proclamations, events and local actions to the Department of Labor so that they can amplify and share your work with others. Use the hashtags #NAW2024 and #ApprenticeshipUSA on social media posts. You can also get inspiration from the NAW 2024 planning toolkit!
To learn more or to engage with NLC on this topic, contact educationexpandedlearning@nlc.org.
Are Apprenticeships Right for Your City?
Join a new technical assistance cohort focused on implementing Registered Apprenticeships. Participating cities will have access to tools and resources to partner with local apprenticeship intermediaries and/or develop new Apprenticeship Programs to fill critical vacancies in municipal roles.
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