Twelve Dataseam Registered Apprentices from eight Kentucky school districts recently participated in a two-day technology training as part of the U.S. Department of Labor-approved Registered Apprenticeship for Information Technology program sponsored by Dataseam.
The Registered Apprenticeship is a United States Department of Labor two-year skilled trades program designed by Dataseam in conjunction with Kentucky K-12 school districts for high school juniors and seniors. Students train to support enterprise-level Information Technology needs for the largest employer in most Kentucky counties, public education.
The competency-based program requires Related Instruction, paid On-Job Training, and mentorship. Participants completing the program can successfully enter the workforce directly upon high school graduation, pursuing meaningful, family-sustaining employment. Registered Apprenticeship Programs are governed locally by the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.
Participating Apprentices represented K-12 Employer Partners including Breathitt, Frankfort Independent, Hancock, Lawrence, Martin, Menifee, Owensboro Public Schools, and Russell Independent Schools. Registered Apprentices collectively earned over $105,000 in new classroom technology resources to support innovation and digital learning in their home districts while adding to the statewide DataseamGrid driving structure-based drug design for the University of Louisville’s Brown Cancer Center.
As part of their participation, Apprentices also each earned an iPad Air and Apple Pencil Pro, continuing Dataseam’s mission of providing students access to technology resources, preparing them for future careers. Upon completion of the Registered Apprenticeship, participants earn these devices along with the already-provided MacBook Pros to meet future academic and workforce opportunities they choose to pursue.
“The Registered Apprenticeship develops students to master technology skills critical to the workforce sectors which are cornerstones of any Kentucky community – education, banking, healthcare, state and local government”, said Brian Gupton, Dataseam CEO. “Whether they go straight to work or on to college, the Registered Apprenticeship helps better inform decisions as they proceed.”
Upon successful completion of the program, students receive an Information Technology Support Specialist Journeyworker certification from the United States Department of Labor . Since 2018, Dataseam’s proven workforce model has expanded Kentucky-based workforce opportunity through competitive funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, and legislative appropriation from the Kentucky General Assembly.
The effort is the largest US Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship for Information Technology in Kentucky.
Download the press release HERE.
