Funder Meeting on Apprenticeships- NOTES
Monday, February 2, 2015
Meeting Summary
These notes are not in chronological order of the actual conversation on February 2nd but rather
start with the short-term next steps and follow up plans. There is a summary of the interest areas
expressed by funders during the roundtable introductions at the end of this document. It worth
noting the number of funders who are interested in young adults and youth.
This summary also describes the conversation around the elements/functions that are not
operational that could be catalytic in advancing the apprenticeship field and community of
practice. Workforce Matters, Aspen Institute, and Joyce, Casey and Ford meeting hosts
debriefed the meeting on February 12th.
Short-Term Next Steps
Group to draft a concept paper (if you name is not on
this list and you would like to participate, please
contact Jennifer Phillips or John Colborn.
 Julie Peller
 Karen Brown
 Crystal Bridgeman
 Roderick Jenkins
 James McCrary
 Melanie Styles
 Whitney Smith
 Laurie Dien
 Susan Crane
Action
The goal here will be to draft a
concrete proposal for funders to
react to and consider funding for by
early summer.
It will outline functions, e.g.,
creation of learning community for
SGA winners, and
roles/responsibilities, e.g. creation
of an advisory board as a way to
coordinate efforts of other people
and institutions.
Aspen Institute staff will draft a
work plan to start the process and
Workforce Matters will help
coordinate the funder concept paper
meeting. No specific dates set yet.
Understanding the USDOL solicitation
 Technical assistance on federal grant
management
 Business leadership
 What’s possible – the ‘gray space’ part of the
solicitation
 Try to recruit some visionary leaders/places to
be on the webinar
 Discussion about sustainability and scale
Tentatively scheduled for March 17
from 2-3 eastern time.
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Funder Meeting on Apprenticeships- NOTES
Monday, February 2, 2015
Opportunity Nation session on apprenticeships, per
Whitney’s email.
National Governor’s Association policy academy on
apprenticeships.
Thoughts about how to bring conservative philanthropy
into the apprenticeship conversation (Philanthropy
Roundtable and Manhattan Institute).
Complete a landscape analysis of what organizations
are working on apprenticeship and from what vantage
point (possible Aspen Institute product). Think about
an interactive database.
Consider short-term campaign-momentum building
messaging.
Consider site visits for funders to certain locations,
such as South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, and/or
Vancouver British Columbia
Consider another funder convening to discuss progress
made.
Feb 25-26
See attached PDF from NGA.
Philanthropy Roundtable just joined
Workforce Matters.
Aspen will begin work on this.
Will be discussed as part of drafting
a concept paper.
TBD.
TBD.
What is USDOL doing?
 Working with employers (advanced campaign similar to UK trailblazer – White House is
involved)
 Hosting informational webinars
 Working with Department of Education
 Collecting past research and return on investment data
 Working on alternative credentials
Limiting Factors/Potential Catalysts: What’s Missing?
The first part of the discussion focused on what is missing from the ‘eco-system’ to promote and
grow the apprenticeship field.
Discussion clustered around four major areas:
Missing Elements
What is needed?
Knowledge Center


Federal/State/
Regional/Local
specific activities?
What states are doing what? What states
have state apprenticeship offices?
How can funders learn from each other?
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Funder Meeting on Apprenticeships- NOTES
Monday, February 2, 2015

Advocacy & Policy



Connecting with educators (secondary and
post-secondary systems)
What research exists? What research needs
to be done?
Solid messaging and marketing to employers
and potential participants
Ways to get beyond stigma
High-touch work with employers
Bringing them to the table early on as
partners
Understanding why employers are hesitant
(job at the end; cost; reporting; union fears;
etc)
Pre-apprenticeship on-ramps
Policy development
No federal money for under 18
Capacity Building
for Practitioners


Splintered constituencies
Better definitions of models

Marketing &
Outreach





Is there an intermediary that can handle all of these tasks? No. But Aspen is a leading
organization and could help organize others. The purpose of an intermediary or coalition would
be to tackle the items above: advance apprenticeship knowledge base including research; market
to employers and potential participants; engage in policy development and advocacy; and build
the capacity of practitioners.
What needs to be articulated next is what are the strategies, tactics, partners, resources,
benchmarks and outcomes for this intermediary/coalition? What would success on
apprenticeships look like and how to you build the institution and resources to work toward that
successful vision?
Other organizations to consult with:
 National Fund for Workforce
Solutions
 Bob Lerman at Urban Institute
 National Skills Coalition
 National Association of
Manufacturers
 National Governors Association







National League of Cities
Opportunity Nation
CF Leads (Community Foundations)
Secondary education organizations
Community College leaders
Other post-secondary leaders
Employers
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Funder Meeting on Apprenticeships- NOTES
Monday, February 2, 2015



U.S. Conference of Mayors
Living Cities
WIOA state agencies



State apprenticeship offices
OCTAE, Johan Uvin
Career and Technical Education
Best institutional elements about National Fund for Workforce Solutions as an intermediary
(lessons for starting an apprenticeship intermediary):
 Best practice focus
 Scale
 Combination of national and local funding
 Focus on underrepresented populations – models that promote access
 Connection to national stage
 Ways to incentivize states to participate
 Solid learning community
PLACE-BASED INTERESTS
Place
Interest
New York
Healthcare, Tech Talent Pipeline, Youth
Philadelphia
Meeting Feb 3
Baltimore
Meeting on Feb 6 to discuss, STRIVE model
Fairfield, Connecticut
Meeting with state leaders soon
Cincinnati, Ohio
IT and Manufacturing
Alabama
Cyber-security, IT Healthcare
PARTICIPANTS
Carrie Braddock
Centerbridge Foundation
Crystal Bridgeman
Siemens Foundation
Karen Brown
Fairfield County Community
Foundation
Laurie Dien
The Pinkerton Foundation
Mindy Feldbaum
ACT Foundation
INTEREST AREAS
focused on education; career access; charter
schools
key elements that make apprenticeships work;
how to expand for youth and adults; how to
provide both in-school and out-of-school
opportunities; how to make programs scalable
Thrive by 25; opportunity youth; new employer
sectors such as digital media
YOUTH
X
interested in high school based apprenticeships
X
interested in young adults; continuums of worklearning-living; concerned about lack of
systems; interested in other sectors such as
retail; works with National Network of Business
X
X
X
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Funder Meeting on Apprenticeships- NOTES
Monday, February 2, 2015
Yancy Garrido
The Clark Foundation
Allison Gerber
The Annie E. Casey
Foundation
Alice Goh
The Ford Foundation
Michelle Henry
JPMorgan Chase
Roderick Jenkins
The New York Community
Trust
Ryan Kelsey
Helmsley Charitable Trust
Betsy Krebs
JPB Foundation
James McCrary
Community Foundation of
Greater Birmingham
Helen Neuborne
The Ford Foundation
Julie Peller
Lumina Foundation
Laine Romero-Alston
The Ford Foundation
Partnerships; what can we learn from TAACCT
experience
interested in employment, education and social
services; moving people out of poverty; heavily
involved in NY Workforce Funders workforce
white paper; encouraged group to not forget
about non-profit employers
interested in work-based learning for youth;
ways apprenticeships could align with NFWS
looking at youth unemployment in Africa
non-traditional sectors; Detroit – construction
and advanced manufacturing; Miami – trade and
logistics
interested in all aspects of apprenticeship;
traditional, formerly incarcerated and youth;
interested in policy dimensions; also Career and
Technical Education high schools (CTE)
how to align apprenticeships with Helmsley
interest in post-secondary STEM; how do
apprenticeships promote upward mobility: what
works; and are there STEM-tech areas for
apprenticeships
interested in apprenticeships as an anti-poverty
solution
part of state workforce council; interested in
high school level apprenticeships; construction
trades; working with Mercedes-Benz and other
industrial partners; came to learn more
Leads team with Laine and Alice
X
X
X
federal policy dimensions; alignment with postsecondary attainment; how apprenticeships
integrate with other systems; policy and
advocacy dimensions
thinking about next generation workforce
strategies especially for low income and
immigrant populations; interested in home care;
retail; hospitality; focused on raising the floor
and building the ladders
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Funder Meeting on Apprenticeships- NOTES
Monday, February 2, 2015
Whitney Smith
The Joyce Foundation
Jennie Sparandara
Job Opportunity Investment
Network
Melanie Styles
Abell Foundation
Sandra Tamer
Stephen Tucker
United Way of Greater
Cincinnati
Janice Urbanik
United Way of Greater
Cincinnati
Deborah Velazquez
Altman Foundation
focused on underprepared adults; have new joint
fund for education and employment
interested in apprenticeships for young adults
and opportunity youth; ways to think about
apprenticeships beyond advanced
manufacturing and health
how apprenticeship could align with sectorbased training efforts in Baltimore; youth
apprenticeship; how to build on CTE models
just setting up a foundation; came to learn more
concerned about lack of use of apprenticeships
in Ohio; thinking about how apprenticeships are
part of the talent pipeline; ways to leverage
resources to expand the model
how to adapt the model for opportunity youth;
what are the place-based dimensions for
apprenticeships
looking at apprenticeships vis-à-vis opportunity
youth; and populations with barriers to
employment
X
X
X
X
Participants unable to get to NYC:
Amalia Delicari, Stavros Niarchos Foundation
David Etzwiler, Siemens Foundation (phone)
Suze Francois, Walmart Foundation
Jessica Jecman, Accenture Foundation
John Ladd, Office of Apprenticeship, USDOL (phone)
Bret Halverson, NYC Workforce Funders (phone)
Johanna Meadows, Centerbridge Foundation
Donna Newton, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro (phone)
Esra Ozer, Alcoa Foundation
Derek Redelman, USA Funds (phone)
Nicole Rodriguez Leach, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
Rachel Romer-Carlson, Overdeck Foundation
Heather Sutton, The Heckscher Foundation for Children (phone)
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