The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is launching the first ever Federal Youth Apprentice Pathway pilot. Through this pilot, the Department will help model ways federal agencies can partner with Registered Apprenticeship Intermediaries to create high-quality career pathways to good federal jobs and the apprentices will gain valuable career training and experience working in our Offices of Apprenticeship, Workforce Investment and Job Corps. The apprenticeship program will include a 3-year career progression, and upon completion, successful apprentices will have the opportunity to enter into a permanent federal position.
Additionally, these roles will support efforts to build and expand the National Apprenticeship System overall. This Apprenticeship program will offer young people an opportunity to springboard into many different federal careers in program implementation and administration. This apprenticeship job opportunity will be posted on USAJobs in the next few weeks, but potential applicants (ages 16-18) are encouraged to review the position description to learn more and begin updating their resume in preparation for the official job posting on USAJobs in the near future.
Workforce Project Apprentice - USAJobs occupation title Student Trainee (Workforce) – provides support to staff within offices of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) in various workforce development and youth related program and administrative duties that support program operations and strategy. With support from a mentor, the apprentices will handle tasks like assisting in the preparation of documentation and reports, assisting in the handling of calls and correspondence, and maintaining records. Within the framework of this pilot program, an experienced mentor will be matched with each apprentice to share their experience and provide ongoing advice and support.
The youth apprentice, as the learner, is committed to continuous improvement, and taking responsibility for the development of their own knowledge, skills and abilities. They also work closely with ETA office staff in implementing goals and guidelines for specific projects, supporting the planning and launching of events and initiatives, following timelines for project deliverables, and monitoring overall operations to ensure procedures adhere to standards, schedules, and project requirements. While assisting ETA office staff, Workforce Project Apprentices will learn about the structure, regulation, and operation of the public workforce system. Successful apprentices will be passionate about public service and policy, eager to learn about the workforce systems’ impact on individuals, have strong written and oral communication skills, pay close attention to detail, and be a dedicated teammate and collaborator. Specific job duties include but are not necessarily limited to the following:
- Support the planning and meeting logistics of multiple events, large scale projects, and initiatives (e.g. Youth Apprenticeship Week, Job Corps events, grant technical assistance events.)
- Support the development of youth awareness campaigns and outreach strategies.
- Engage with youth apprentices, job corps students, and pre-apprentices to identify best practices and areas of improvement to inform program policies and strategies moving forward.
- Compile and disseminate youth employment related success stories, videos, and other promotional materials.
- Create and participate in a peer networking group with the other Federal Youth Apprentices to support each other, share lessons learned, and increase coordination across the three participating offices.
Build sustainable relationships and negotiate and develop collaborative working relationships with office staff.
- Support the office team in the development and distribution of technical assistance tools.
- Review and edit materials to meet quality specifications, including formatting and consistent text, and accessibility standards.
- Conduct basic research, such as reviewing multiple long documents to find specific descriptions.
- Provide high-level customer service to all office Partners and Stakeholders.
- Communicate in team meetings in a manner that facilitates the accomplishment of goals.
- Learning grants management skills and processes.
- Participate in training sessions to learn about various ETA programs such as Registered Apprenticeship, Job Corps, and Youthbuild etc.
- Meet with the mentor and ICF support team on a regular basis to ensure competencies are being met and apprenticeship experience is a success.
- Participate in rotational opportunities to other ETA offices.
Book meetings and conference rooms for staff as needed.
- Respond to correspondence and questions received by email or phone and make sure they are answered in a timely fashion.
- Attend meetings (Webinars, training etc.), which may include recording feedback from stakeholders or meeting participants, and ensuring the agency delivers materials and information discussed in the meeting.
- Support the preparation and distribution of outreach materials; provide ideas and suggestions on how to reach more youth, parents, teachers, counselors, etc.