Committee Aimed at Aligning Education and Workforce Through Growth of Apprenticeship
DENVER – September 20, 2021 – CareerWise Colorado today announced its founder and CEO, Noel Ginsburg has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA). Nominated by Senator John Hickenlooper, Ginsburg will represent the employer category as the founder and CEO of Intertech Plastics, where he pioneered the CareerWise youth apprenticeship training model.
The newly reinstated, 29 member committee will focus on better aligning the education and workforce systems to allow for continued growth of apprenticeship and strategize expansion to new industries and ensure equity for under-represenated populations.
“Apprenticeship can be transformative in creating opportunities for all Americans,” said Ginsburg. “Youth apprenticeship represents industry’s role in how we educate our workforce–it’s an important part of a three-legged stool along with K-12 and higher education.”
Ginsburg’s commitment to workforce development led to the creation of CareerWise, an innovative youth apprenticeship system creating post-secondary paths to career and college. The multi-year program has high-school apprentices performing increasingly valuable work while training alongside professionals. The model is designed to prepare students with the hard and soft skills employers are looking for in entry-level roles and reach students before the traditional barriers to social mobility are presented.
“Mr. Ginsburg is eager to lend his insights to the ACA as an employer and as a youth apprenticeship expert. His business-led approach and focus on bettering outcomes from people of all communities builds bridges and is relatable no matter one’s politics,” said Senator Hickenlooper in his nomination of Ginsburg.
Ginsburg’s passion for creating sustainable and equitable post-secondary opportunities for young people goes back more than three decades. In 1993, he was appointed by then-Colorado Governor Roy Romer to the National Governors Association Roundtable on School-to-Work. Additionally, he served on the Clinton Global Initiative’s US Employment Action Network, co-founded Colorado’s I Have a Dream Foundation, launched the Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Alliance and is currently appointed to the Colorado Workforce Development Council, our state’s Workforce Investment Board.
About CareerWise Colorado
CareerWise Colorado’s youth apprenticeship system creates new, diverse talent pipelines for employers and new career pathways for students to access high-demand, high-paying careers. Student apprentices work toward high school graduation and earn postsecondary credit, industry credentials or both in their chosen career path. Established by the state of Colorado’s Business Experiential-Learning (BEL) Commission in 2016, CareerWise works with more than 120 employers and 16 school districts to facilitate apprenticeship. More information is available at careerwisecolorado.org.
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Media Contact:
Mary Knight, CareerWise
(715) 314-1411
mary.knight@careerwiseusa.org