Commissioner takes part in apprenticeship discussion

Shapiro hoping to bring federal funds back to the county

NORRISTOWN — Montgomery County commissioners’ Chairman Josh Shapiro is hoping bring some money President Barack Obama is setting aside for apprenticeships to Montgomery County.

On Monday, Shapiro went to a summit at the White House to discuss workforce investment and apprenticeships. At a press briefing Tuesday, he said a number of business owners in the private sector also attended the summit.

In April, Obama committed $100 million to helping to create more apprenticeships throughout the country.

The primary goal of the White House summit was to figure out how to invest the $100 million for workforce development and meet the goals set out by the president, Shapiro said.

“The contributions I made to the discussion were to focus the investment of the $100 million on what I call ‘shovel-ready systems,’ meaning systems that are already in place where you can get an immediate (return on investment) by allowing that program or that initiative to be scaled up quickly and dramatically with the infusion of this new capital,” Shapiro said.

A number of the business leaders at the table talked about using the money to incentivize their participation in the apprenticeships, he said.

Others, he said, discussed marketing apprenticeships and making students aware of options other than a traditional four year degree.

Shapiro said he spoke about a program in the county that works to expose high school students to new manufacturing opportunities when they graduate.

“We’re finding that more and more students are looking for alternatives to the traditional liberal arts education,” Shapiro said.

Showing new manufacturing jobs to students in Montgomery County will give them several choices when they graduate, he said.

Montgomery County does not have a formalized apprenticeship program in place right now, Shapiro said.

“At the end of the day it’s my hope that my participation in this discussion will yield some of that $100 million coming back to Montgomery County,” he said.

Shapiro said the White House wants to gets the criteria established over the next couple of months. He said if the county will be getting any of the federal dollars, he hopes the government will begin releasing some of it by the end of the year or the beginning of next year.