{"id":28114,"date":"2025-05-02T07:31:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T11:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=28114"},"modified":"2025-05-02T07:31:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T11:31:52","slug":"mamc-w-va-department-of-education-launch-statewide-pre-apprenticeship-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/mamc-w-va-department-of-education-launch-statewide-pre-apprenticeship-program\/","title":{"rendered":"MAMC, W.Va. Department of Education launch statewide pre-apprenticeship program"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC) and the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) today announced a statewide partnership to create new pre-apprenticeship opportunities for students and strengthen the talent pipeline for Mountain State industries.<\/p>\n

Through the WVDE\u2019s Classroom2Careers initiative, MAMC will align manufacturing trade programs at the state\u2019s career technical education (CTE) centers with U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) pre-apprenticeship standards. Approximately 2,000 students across West Virginia will be eligible to earn pre-apprenticeship credit, giving them direct access to employment opportunities with companies that offer registered apprenticeships through MAMC\u2019s Apprenticeship Works.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough this collaboration with Marshall Advanced Manufacturing, our students will gain early, hands-on experience in the field \u2014 helping them to build confidence, sharpen skills and see what it truly means to build a career,\u201d said State Superintendent of Schools Michele L. Blatt. \u201cThese students are learning real-world skills that employers are actively seeking. These are the skills that open doors and create opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis pre-apprenticeship initiative is a major step forward for workforce development in West Virginia,\u201d said MAMC Director Derek Scarbro. \u201cBy connecting education and industry in a meaningful way, we\u2019re helping to ensure that our students have clear pathways to rewarding careers \u2014 and that our companies have access to the homegrown talent they need to compete and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students who complete the pre-apprenticeship program will benefit from a streamlined\u00a0pathway into full apprenticeships, shortening the time it takes to earn journeyworker certifications.<\/p>\n

Ralph R. Willis Career and Technical Center in Logan County and the Academy of Careers and Technology in Raleigh County are the first two schools to participate. They are partnering with manufacturers Klockner Pentaplast in Beaver and Mine Repair Specialist and US Gearworks in Holden to provide students real-world experiences that lead directly into full apprenticeships.<\/p>\n

Scarbro said additional partnerships with schools and employers across the state are in development and will be announced soon.<\/p>\n

West Virginia\u2019s CTE system currently includes 77 eligible training programs in fields such as welding, machining, robotics, industrial maintenance, and aviation maintenance at 42 schools statewide. All are eligible to participate in the Classroom2Careers Pre-Apprenticeship initiative.<\/p>\n

“We are proud to support this innovative partnership that redefines the connection between education and workforce development,\u201d said Marshall University President Brad D. Smith. \u201cBy equipping students with both learning and hands-on training opportunities, we\u2019re not only preparing them for successful careers \u2014 we\u2019re also strengthening West Virginia\u2019s workforce. It\u2019s a powerful win for students, employers and our entire state.\u201d<\/p>\n

This new pre-apprenticeship program is a component of MAMC\u2019s Apprenticeship Works, which assists manufacturers nationwide in establishing and maintaining apprenticeships in 20 advanced manufacturing occupations. Apprenticeship Works is funded entirely through a $7.1 million grant from the DOL\u2019s Office of Apprenticeship \u2013 Employment and Training Administration.<\/p>\n

For more information about how schools can participate in the Classroom2Careers Pre-Apprenticeship program, contact Ian Blache, MAMC Workforce Development Program manager, at 304-781-1657 or ian.blache@mfg.marshall.edu.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC) and the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) today announced a statewide partnership to create new pre-apprenticeship opportunities for students and strengthen the talent pipeline for Mountain State industries. Through the WVDE\u2019s Classroom2Careers initiative, MAMC will align manufacturing trade programs at the state\u2019s career technical education (CTE) centers with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-murc","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28114"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28116,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28114\/revisions\/28116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}