The Apprenticeship Maryland Program Helps High School Students Take the First Step to Rewarding Careers

Like most young people, Doria Weidel’s early career aspirations spanned multiple disciplines. Her love for animals first drew her to the dream of becoming a veterinarian, and she even worked for a while at an animal shelter to explore the field. On a completely different career path, Doria had held a passion for automobiles since early childhood, when she became fascinated with understanding how school buses were built. Fast forward to Doria entering her senior year at Howard High School in Ellicott City in 2022. Stephanie Discepolo from Howard County Public Schools Career and Technology Education program introduced her to the Apprenticeship Maryland Program (AMP), a youth apprenticeship program that provides students with the opportunity to earn a high school degree while simultaneously gaining valuable skilled work experience. Stephanie enjoys the chance to introduce students like Doria to AMP. “We are able to connect students to their career pathway while they are in high school and help them bridge the gap. It’s very exciting for me to watch the students find their way,” she says. The AMP opportunity Doria found most interesting was an automotive apprenticeship with BA Auto Care. In addition to participating in AMP, BA Auto Care also sponsors a Registered Apprenticeship program, which allows students such as Doria to smoothly transition after high school graduation from the youth program to a Registered Apprenticeship. Doria discussed the opportunity with her mother, and together they decided it was the right next step for her to take in developing her career path. Doria truly loved her youth apprenticeship experience with BA Auto Care, despite having to hold down a demanding schedule that included working at BA Auto Care in the morning, attending high school in the afternoon, and returning back to work upon completing her day at school. She also attended automotive classes at the Community College of Baltimore County on Fridays and Saturdays. The staff at BA Auto Care admired Doria’s commitment. “We truly appreciate Doria’s above and beyond efforts as it has greatly benefited us,” says BA Auto Care representative Sandy Weaver. When asked if she found any particular part of her training challenging, Doria said that most things naturally came easily to her, but certain areas such as diagnostics, scan tools, and electrical components could be a bit confusing at times. She realizes that the automotive repair field is male dominated but says she has always felt comfortable interacting with her teammates. Everyone has been supportive, and no one has ever made her feel inferior. She encourages other young women not to be intimidated about the idea of pursuing a career in automotive repair. “Don’t be afraid to try new things and do not allow anyone to tell you what you can’t do because you’re a girl,” she advises. Doria graduated from high school in January of 2023 and has since transitioned from her role as a Youth Apprentice to a full-time Registered Apprentice with BA Auto Care through the company’s School to Apprenticeship program.

Employee Spotlight The Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning is pleased to announce that Lauren Gilwee has returned as the Director of Policy for the Division following a brief health hiatus. In addition to policy initiatives, her portfolio includes legislative and regulatory work, and securing discretionary grant awards.  She received her B.A. from Loyola University New Orleans where she studied Political Science and Spanish, and an M.A. in Romance Languages from the University of New Orleans. Her professional passion areas include language access, career and technical education, and immigrant integration. Following college graduation, Lauren taught middle school for five years in the post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans Recovery School District. During her tenure as a teacher, she received an alternative teaching certification for coursework completed in educational pedagogy, instructional planning and assessment, literacy, and multiculturalism in learning.   In 2013, Lauren transitioned to adult continuing education where she worked at Baltimore City Community College as an ESL Transition Specialist and later as Project Lead Coordinator for Workforce Development. She joined the Maryland Department of Labor in 2017 as the New Americans Initiative Coordinator and accepted the Policy Director role in 2019.  When Lauren isn’t working, she volunteers as a National Weather Service storm spotter and enjoys baking. She lives in Baltimore County with her wife and daughter.

New Americans Corner  Interpretation vs. Translation The key to providing effective workforce services is being able to communicate with customers about their needs and goals. But what happens when English-speaking frontline staff in American Job Centers (AJCs) need to serve customers who speak and write in languages other than English? The terms interpretation and translation are often used interchangeably in casual conversation to describe the process of converting information from one language to another; however, they actually have very distinct meanings for workforce system providers. So, what is the difference? Let’s start with the term interpretation. This is the term used to describe the process of orally converting one language to another. For situations where English-speaking staff need to serve a customer who only speaks in another language, interpretation services are needed. For example, if a customer walks into an AJC and points to Portuguese on the language identification card on the counter, staff need to seek interpretation services to facilitate communication. Telephonic interpreter services are often offered in situations such as this. An interpreter would also be needed to accommodate a customer who speaks Amharic who is scheduled to attend an information session. In-person or virtual interpreter services are commonly offered in situations such as this. On the other hand, sometimes customers need help understanding written materials. Converting written information from one language to another is referred to as translation. If a customer exclusively speaks Burmese and Korean, staff need to ensure they can access written materials in those languages. The services of a translation vendor are needed in this case. In a nutshell: Interpreters speak or use sign language to orally convert language, whereas translators convert written information from one language to another.  For more information on interpretation and translation services, check out the Language Access Plan jointly issued by the Maryland Department of Labor’s Divisions of Workforce Development and Adult Learning and Unemployment Insurance

Workforce Partners

Maryland Department of Labor                                                                  Maryland Department of Human Services

Maryland State Department of Education                                                Governor's Workforce Development Board

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development                            Maryland Workforce Association

Maryland's Latest Workforce Development Updates                                                                                                                          

• New Workforce Development Programs Use the Apprenticeship Model to Build Maryland's Talent Pipelines in the Public Sector and Hospitality Industry -

  MD Labor recently launched new workforce development programs in the public sector and hospitality industry:

  • The Public Sector Apprenticeship Innovation Fund is a rolling, competitive grant fund designed to foster the development and expansion of Registered Apprenticeships within Maryland’s public sector workforce. Through the fund, public sector agencies will have access to a flexible funding stream designed to support their specific needs for creating and growing Registered Apprenticeship pathways.
  • The Maryland Hospitality Management Apprenticeship Program creates a pipeline to an associate degree and a management level position for individuals employed within the hospitality industry.
• Save the Date for the 2024 Maryland Rehabilitation Conference - 

  The Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Rehabilitation Services recently sent out a Save the Date notice for the 2024 Maryland Rehabilitation Conference with a call for presentations. The conference will be held on May 16 and 17, 2024 at the Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel in Towson.

• Healthcare Apprenticeships Offer Workers Employment with Good Career Pathways - 

  Do you serve jobseeker customers who are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare? The Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (BACH) has developed a Registered Apprenticeship model that allows participants to earn a salary while gaining skills in high demand healthcare occupations with excellent career advancement potential!

  BACH is a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating the critical shortage of qualified healthcare workers in the Baltimore area by working with local agencies, healthcare institutions, and other entities to create opportunities for residents to pursue careers in health professions. Through its work with seven major healthcare employers in the Baltimore region, BACH has developed a thorough understanding of workforce needs and experience convening employers to ensure efforts are industry-led. Due to BACH’s established role as a workforce intermediary and the organization’s consistent record for delivering outstanding outcomes, MD Labor began working with BACH in 2016 to develop innovative Registered Apprenticeship programs in healthcare occupations. MD Labor has directed a portion of funding awarded to the state through federal apprenticeship grants to support BACH’s ongoing work in this area.

  BACH has used these funds to create apprenticeship programs for the occupations of Environmental Care Supervisor, Surgical Technologist, Licensed Practical Nurse, Central Sterile Processing Technician, and Medical Assistant. Since the program’s inception, 135 apprentices have been registered in the program, (13 Central Sterile Processing Technicians, 58 Environmental Care Supervisors, 31 Medical Assistants, 16 Licensed Practical Nurses, and 17 Surgical Technologists).

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Benchmarks of Success Committee Updates

Committee Chairs welcome questions from newsletter readers regarding the work in which their groups are involved! To be connected with a committee's leadership team, feel free to contact the Communications Committee at dlwdalcommunications-labor@maryland.gov.

All committees are currently meeting virtually.

• The Executive Steering Committee is composed of the agency leaders of the partner agencies who meet periodically to provide the WIOA Alignment Group with high-level guidance. You can learn more about the Executive Steering Committee’s ongoing activities here.
• The WIOA Alignment Group is composed of the department and division-level leaders of partner agencies who meet on a monthly basis to collaboratively address issues, plan joint efforts, make recommendations to the Executive Steering Committee, and manage and guide the activities of the Benchmarks of Success committees. The WIOA Alignment Group typically meets on the last Monday of each month. The most recent meeting was held on October 30, 2023. The next meeting date will be determined. You can learn more about the WIOA Alignment Group’s ongoing activities here.
• The Data and Dashboard Committee is comprised of representatives from partner agencies who possess subject matter expertise in program-based performance requirements and data collection methodologies and tools. The Committee meets on a quarterly basis to develop a consistent, sustainable system all workforce partners can use to measure, analyze, display, and apply Benchmarks data to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of services. The Committee held its most recent meeting on November 14, 2023. The group's next meeting date will be determined. You can learn more about the Data and Dashboard Committee’s ongoing activities here.
• The Communications Committee is comprised of representatives from partner agencies who possess subject matter expertise in programs and communications methods and tools. The Committee meets on a monthly basis to foster the integration of Maryland’s workforce system by broadly promoting the activities of the Benchmarks of Success committees and the services and resources of partner agencies and programs. The Benchmarks of Success newsletter is the committee's main deliverable. The newsletter serves as a central forum targeting frontline service providers, where partners can share information on important developments that impact the system. The Committee held its most recent meeting on December 7, 2023. The group's next meeting date will be determined. You can learn more about the Communications Committee’s ongoing activities here.
• The Policy Committee is comprised of representatives from partner agencies who possess subject matter expertise in workforce system policy issues. The Committee meets on a monthly basis to research policy issues and produces an annual Policy Recommendations Report. The recommendations included in the Report help to guide system priorities and initiatives. The next meeting of the Committee is to be determined. You can learn more about the Policy Committee’s ongoing activities here.
• The Professional Development and Technical Assistance Committee works to advance a unified professional development program that helps all partner programs maximize access to and use of skills and credentialing and life management skills, eliminate barriers to employment through the use of supportive services, and strengthen and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the workforce system. The Committee typically meets on the third Wednesday of each month. The group held its most recent meeting on October 18, 2023. The date for the committee's next meeting will be determined. You can learn more about the Professional Development and Technical Assistance Committee’s activities here.

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