State and local governments can use public sector apprenticeships as a workforce and economic development tool. The Urban Institute will host a webinar on May 11, 2021 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, which will cover the advantages of public sector apprenticeships, how states can apply and receive support to launch or expand apprenticeships, and the benefits from apprenticeship consortium participation. Speakers include representatives of the Denver Public Schools, The Council of State Governments, and the Urban Institute (including a former Kentucky Secretary of Education and Workforce Development).

The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) will host its 37th Annual Conference as a virtual event from May 17 to May 19, 2021. Conference workshops are categorized in five tracks: Excelling in a Virtual Environment; Strategies for Workforce Professional Self-Care; Fiscal Responsibility and Oversight; Diversity and Inclusion; and Educating and Training Our Future Workforce. The conference will offer opportunities for networking and enhancing professional development. There is a registration fee for participation.

These 2020 National Indian and Native American Employment and Training Conference Western Regional Peer-to-Peer Training Conference presentations cover several areas which are relevant to tribal workforce development programs and operations. Topics included: DOL ETA 9130 Reports; Enhancing Participant Outcome under WIOA Performance Indicators; Stackable Credentials; SMART Training; Tribal Workforce Development, Self-Determination, Innovation, Policy Recommendations; and Your Money, Your Goals: New Financial Empowerment Tools for Workforce Development. The presentations also include profiles of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Indian and Native American Programs and the Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

Hosted by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, this webinar portion of a Tribal Case Management Series focused on strategies for improving employment outcomes for Tribal TANF recipients. During the webinar, participants learned strategies on providing one-on-one coaching to job seekers on effective job search techniques, three categories of interview questions they can use to screen applicants, and four strategies for keeping clients active during the job search activity.

This session from the December 2020 OFA Regions IX and X Virtual Tribal TANF Technical Assistance Meeting examined strategies and tools for assessing employment trends and included presentations on designing employment partnerships adapted to economic realities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speakers included: Theresa Lujan, the Indian and Native American Employment Rights Program (INAERP); Evette Cullen, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services; Mike Yoder, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services; and Isla Young, Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation (OWINN), State of Nevada.

This American Indian College Fund guidebook, intended to support Native American college students in developing career pathways, includes culturally relevant resources. The guidebook features tips and inspiring stories on job seeking, resumé preparation, cover letters, references, appropriate dress, internships, enhancing soft skills, personal branding, and interviewing. The guidebook also identifies career information about skilled trades, job opportunities in Indian Country, pursuing graduate school, networking, and joining associations.

This fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Indian and Native American Programs highlights the more than $7 million in spending under the Cherokee Nation’s Respond, Recover and Rebuild spending relief plan, which is designed to increase career opportunities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact sheet discusses allocations for the tribe’s summer youth employment; a tribal training program known as “day work;” a work experience program; and a tuition assistance program to support careers in health care, construction, truck driving, welding, and other fields. The fact sheet also notes that the tribe is creating a career ladder program in telemedicine and health IT, expanding its online GED programs, and supporting its trade clients with technology needs.

Hybrid and competency-based approaches to Registered Apprenticeship programs are becoming increasingly popular and can be useful to participants who are enrolled in secondary education. This self-paced online course intends to support workforce development professionals, employers, and apprenticeship sponsors in planning, designing, and implementing a hybrid or competency-based Registered Apprenticeship program for youth or adults. Key elements of the course include guidance on how to build a plan, find program samples and create a work process, develop a related technical instruction (RTI) outline, create a wage scale, design a communications plan and identify success measures, and build competency assessments.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report reviews the creation of integrated employment services and treatment programs for persons with opioid and substance use disorders (SUDs) and covers the emerging evidence on this approach’s effectiveness in improving participant employment outcomes. Employment service delivery as part of SUD treatment intends to support individuals in their attainment of sustained recovery and improved economic well-being. The report was prepared as part of the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families (BEES) project which evaluates programs that combine employment services with SUD treatment and recovery services. Through these evaluations, BEES strives to increase awareness of effective interventions that support low-income individuals in finding jobs and advancing in the labor market.

The Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse will host a webinar on April 29, 2021 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET to discuss how TANF administrators and other service providers can find and use information on the Pathways Clearinghouse website about evidence-based interventions and their implementation. Presentations will cover the Pathways Clearinghouse’s relevance and a demonstration of the website’s new features, as well as the website’s information on how over 50 evidence-based interventions were implemented. Speakers include representatives of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Archuleta County Department of Human Services, the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, and Mathematica.