The Education Committee of ApprenticeshipPHL is excited to unveil a critical resource that supports high school students, caregivers, teachers, and school personnel in discovering Registered Pre-Apprenticeship programs in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.
Nearly a year ago, members of the Education Committee convened for the first time to discuss a challenge that rose to the surface with the passage of Act 158 under the PA Department of Education. While the act opens up opportunities for multiple pathways to graduation, identifying and enrolling in various workforce opportunities was not easy for current high school students as there is no one place to find programs that align with graduation requirements. The Education Committee noted right away that Registered Pre-Apprenticeship programs fall under one specific pathway (Pathway IV), but not all programs are open to or accept students who have not yet graduated high school. Our mission was clear – we needed to research, interview, and gather the information that would be most useful to high school students and stakeholders. We hope this leads to students being able to make better informed decisions regarding their pathway options.
After several months of coordinating our outreach efforts and consulting with the PA Apprenticeship & Training Office, we are proud to release this directory to serve as a centralized location of information about existing Registered Pre-Apprenticeship programs. While this resource will primarily benefit high school students, we also see it as a catalyst to developing additional resources to expand Registered Pre-Apprenticeship programs in our region. This project has helped us gain a better understanding of these invaluable opportunities both for young people who are looking for careers after graduation and for employers who are seeking ways to strengthen their talent pipeline.
