Second chances: Career coaching leads to fresh starts in Kentucky

For Second Chance month, we spoke to Olivia Murphy, who serves as senior career coach (and now youth program manager) for The Spot: Young Adult Opportunity Center in Louisville, KY. The story highlights how KentuckianaWorks navigates the challenges of life after incarceration, and how their impact encourages people to embrace second chances.

Read the full story to learn more.

2024 NIWL Annual Report

Our work in 2024 highlights our pivotal role in workforce development across the country. In fulfilling our mission to advance solutions in education and workforce systems, we establish partnerships, expand economic opportunities through work-based learning, foster employee engagement, and provide a comprehensive spectrum of services for learning and workforce development.

Read NIWL’s 2024 Annual Report to learn more about our work to strengthen our partners and forge connections so that we can all reach our fullest potential.

Just looking for the highlights? Check out our 2024 Infographic.

Honoring the Past to Empower the Future: Trauma-Informed and Healing-Centered Approaches to Caring for Youth in the Criminal Justice System

Honoring the Past to Empower the Future reviews the landscape of holistic and inclusive approaches to trauma-informed and healing-centered care for youth as implemented by tribal governments and organizations. Approaches that incorporate medicinal practices and cultural values, focus on the healing power of empathy, draw on the wisdom of elders and spiritual leaders, and embrace the rehabilitative potential of community engagement help to promote an environment of healing, recovery, and growth. Read the article to learn more.

Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Counselor Apprenticeship

As part of our Apprenticeship Programs, FHI 360 is partnering with New Ways to Work to develop a Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Counselor Apprenticeship. This apprenticeship equips direct services employers with the resources they need to recruit workers with life experiences relevant to the communities they serve.

Through a combination of paid on-the-job learning (OJL) and coursework, apprentices will gain an alternative, rigorous, and rewarding point of entry into a profession that traditionally requires post-secondary education. Upon completion, program participants receive a national credential from the U.S. Department of Labor. To learn more, read our fact sheet.

Peer Support Specialist Apprenticeship

As part of our Apprenticeship Programs, FHI 360’s Peer Support Specialist Apprenticeship partners with the Public Works Alliance (PWA) to train apprentices who have experienced recovery from personal and societal challenges. These include substance use disorder, PTSD, the re-entry process, and many other challenges. This shared experience enables apprentices to support others who are going through similar hardships.

By partnering with FHI 360, employers can use this apprenticeship to reinforce a holistic approach in their mental health services. Apprentices who complete their apprenticeship earn a national credential from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). To learn more, consult our fact sheet.

National Institute for Work and Learning Apprenticeships

FHI 360’s NIWL Apprenticeships bring together experts in workforce development to expand existing nationally registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs), such as the Youth Development Practitioner Apprenticeship (YDPA) and develop new opportunities within the care economy such as youth services, peer support, substance-use counseling, and mental health counseling.

Upon completion, apprentices receive a nationally recognized credential from the U.S. Department of Labor. Read the fact sheet to learn more.

Breaking the Cycle: How Two YDPA Apprentices Are Healing Their Communities

“To me, that’s the biggest message with this apprenticeship — this is the perfect way to learn how to change lives.”

As we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2024, we highlight two Lake County Youth Development Practitioner Apprentices who use their work to break the cycles of trauma and heal their communities: Luis Garcia Jr. and Jenessa Armstrong. Click here to read about their journeys in becoming the person they wanted to have in their corner growing up.

Careers in Trade eBook

The Careers in Trade guide is an interactive tool that will guide you through numerous trade-related career pathways. You will be provided the opportunity to explore careers in trade, various certification options, an insight into the roles and responsibilities of multiple careers in trade, and connection activities bridging academics and trades.

2023 NIWL Annual Report

Our work in 2023 highlights our pivotal role as an intermediary organization. In fulfilling our mission to advance solutions in education and workforce systems, we focus on bringing people together, listening to our partners and local leadership, fostering networks of support and providing a comprehensive spectrum of services for learning and workforce development.

Read NIWL’s 2023 Annual Report to learn more about our work to strengthen our partners and forge connections so that we can all reach our fullest potential.

Just looking for the highlights? Check out our 2023 Infographic.

Approach to Justice-Impacted Populations Overview

FHI 360’s National Institute for Work and Learning partners with federal, state, local, and Tribal governments, the private sector, and civil society to improve the education and employment outcomes of young adults, ages 18 through 24, during and after involvement in the U.S. criminal justice system. Read this overview of our comprehensive services.