As part of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative, FHI 360’s NIWL is part of a national network of organizations that champion the expansion of Registered Apprenticeships.
NIWL helps employers, partners, and apprentices make the most of apprenticeships as a cost-effective workforce development solution.
What is Apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is a structured earn-while-you-learn employment model that combines related training instruction with on-the-job learning under the guidance of an experienced mentor. Upon completion of a registered apprenticeship, an apprentice earns a nationally recognized credential from the U.S. Department of Labor certifying occupational proficiency.
To learn more about registered apprenticeship, visit: www.apprenticeship.gov
A Talent Pipeline for the Care Economy
The Care Economy is a rapidly growing field in which trained professionals support individuals faced with physical, mental, and societal challenges. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects an average of 16% growth across the youth development, peer support, and substance use disorder mental health counseling from 2023 to 2033. Our apprenticeships create affordable pathways to entry, incorporate the voices of lived experiences, and provide opportunities to earn while learning in Care Economy professions. These include pre-apprenticeship curriculums and four apprenticeship pathways.
Our Apprenticeships:
- Youth Development Practitioner
- Community Health Worker
- Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Counselor
- Peer Support Specialist
- Pre-Apprenticeships
Our Youth Development Practitioner Apprenticeship equips apprentices with skills crucial to youth-serving fields such as intake counseling, after-school programming, outreach work, justice reentry, and more.
Developed in partnership with The Amity Foundation, our Community Health Worker Apprenticeship (CHW) equips professionals with the most effective skills, strategies, and tools in community healthcare services. In addition to on-the-job-learning, CHW apprentices learn about the social determinants of health (SDOH), cultural and structural competence, psychosocial rehabilitation, trauma-informed care, and more.
Developed in partnership with New Ways to Work, East Los Angeles College, and Cuesta College, our Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Counselor Apprenticeship trains apprentices in an alternative, rewarding career path into mental healthcare that consists of instruction and practical experience in counseling skills.
[Coming Soon!] Our Peer Support Specialist (PSS) Apprenticeship hones the skills of apprentices who have experienced and overcome challenges such as reentry, mental health disorders, PTSD, and substance use to assist others experiencing similar challenges. In addition to on-the-job learning, PSS apprentices learn public health principles, trauma-informed care, public health principles, and more.
While apprenticeships create affordable pathways into high-quality careers, pre-apprenticeships provide young people ages 16 and up the opportunity to explore and learn about career options before committing to a particular apprenticeship. Click the link below to learn more about out FREE curricula.
Featured Resources
Hear from YDP apprentices Angel, Jenessa, and Luis about how the apprenticeship is allowing them to further their careers.
From the World Economic Forum: Apprenticeships could change the way Americans work and learn, by NIWL Director Lisa Johnson
Watch NIWL’s Kelly Middleton Banks speak about the power of youth apprenticeship from a recent National Association of Workforce Development Boards webinar.
NIWL’s Registered Apprenticeships are supported by the Employment Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor as part of an ABA2 grant award totaling $8 million with 0% financed from non-governmental sources.
