New Michigan LEO Registered Apprenticeship Program RFP - White Males Need Not Apply

The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to accept funding requests for Registered Apprenticeship programs.  These Registered Apprenticeship programs will be limited to focused on "underrepresented Michiganders"; specifically defined as women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, English language learners, and individuals without a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent.  This excludes at least 35% of Michigan's workforce, according to the U.S. Census Quick Facts.

This new RA RFP is issued under the LEO's State Apprenticeship Expansion (SAE) 2023 grant program and is distinct from the Michigan Statewide Targeted Apprenticeship Inclusion and Readiness System (MiSTAIRS) Registered Apprenticeship Program RFP, which expires today.

Ruthanne Sudderth was interviewed by Crain's Detroit Business about the importance of Registered Apprenticeships to healthcare employers.  She is the Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA), President of the MHA Upper Peninsula Hospital Council, and a member of the Michigan Apprenticeship Advisory Board:

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/sponsored-content/rebuilding-health-care-talent-pipeline-using-registered-apprenticeship-programs

Rebuilding the health care talent pipeline using Registered Apprenticeship Programs
Ask the Expert
December 18, 2023

Health care is historically the largest private-sector employer in Michigan—contributing nearly 568,000 jobs and $100 billion to the state’s economy in 2021. However, filling those positions with trained professionals is increasingly challenging amid a constricted labor market. Hospitals across the state reported more than 27,000 job openings in March 2023, according to a survey by the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.

To address this gap, the health care industry is looking beyond traditional career pathways to keep the talent pipeline packed though Registered Apprenticeships. For insight into this issue, Crain’s Content Studio recently spoke with Ruthanne Sudderth, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, and a member of the Michigan Apprenticeship Advisory Board.

What are some of the critical staffing challenges facing health care providers and hospitals?

The entire health care sector has been facing staffing shortages across the board for many years, but the pandemic exacerbated those shortages. We conducted a survey of our members in early 2023 that confirmed that we’re in desperate need of more nurses, technicians, medical assistants, nursing assistants, food service, and other services. It takes a lot of different areas of expertise to run a hospital, and we are experiencing shortages in many of those areas.

How can Registered Apprenticeship Programs help address these challenges for the industry?

It’s an important pathway in rebuilding our health care talent pipeline, and it’s unique in that it keeps people working. They get paid while they learn in a sector they can work in long-term. Registered Apprenticeships provide an affordable and hands-on entry point to critical areas of need in health care. It also creates a more diverse and equitable talent pool because it provides financial support for apprentices while they’re getting the training and education they need. It lowers the barrier to entry for people who may not be able to attend school full-time.

Do employers worry that Registered Apprentices will take their certifications and leave, or do apprenticeships foster loyalty?

This model demonstrates high success rates in keeping those employees. There’s certainly an investment that employers have to make upfront, but in return they get an effective and reliable employee. There’s a lot of loyalty, productivity and retention. The data shows that Registered Apprentices have lower turnover than other workers that come in through other pathways, and you get someone with skills that match your institution’s unique needs and culture.

Why is it important to market these opportunities to youth, even at the high school level?

Most kids don’t know that you don’t necessarily have to be a doctor or a nurse to work in health care. We want kids to understand that there are many career pathways in health care, and there are so many programs that can provide them with paid training and education for a lifelong career. It’s critical that hospitals and health systems raise the awareness of health care apprenticeships, before kids reach that decision-making point in their lives, to help them understand that this pathway can provide them with education and training as well as a paycheck.

With an aging workforce, are health care providers concerned about losing experience and institutional knowledge as professionals retire? How can Registered Apprenticeships help close this gap?

This is a major concern for health care employers, and it’s a double-edged sword because not only is the health care workforce aging, but the people they care for are aging, so we need more workers at the same time that the patient population needs more care. This requires that we find additional ways to get people into health care and that we retain that wealth of knowledge and experience as long as possible.

The Registered Apprenticeship model can help us refill that bucket by training and educating new workers, and by giving older health care workers an opportunity to stay in the workforce longer to train these apprentices. We really need people on both sides of the spectrum, and it’s fulfilling and valuable to both the apprentice and the teacher.

What are some reasons a business – in health care or beyond – might want to consider bringing in a Registered Apprentice?

Through Registered Apprenticeships, employers can gain an incredible pathway of skilled workers who tend to have lower turnover, and you can design the program to match the skills you need in your institution. Between the increased loyalty and high productivity, it’s a significant return on the investment for the employer.

I would encourage all health care employers to consider a Registered Apprenticeship model. There are a lot of partners to provide support and direction to get a Registered Apprenticeship Program off the ground—our State of Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, our Michigan Works! agencies, and our Department of Labor at the federal level have all been incredibly helpful in setting up health care Registered Apprenticeship Programs.

Note that Ms. Sudderth does not endorse the racialist aspect of the LEO SAE 2023 Registered Apprenticeship programs RFP.

The new LEO SAE 2023 RA program RFP will expire February 7, 2024: