On January 21, 2021, Clark University in Worcester, MA, was awarded a $10 million apprenticeship grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to help provide workforce training for jobs in industries that are currently in demand, such as information technology (IT), manufacturing, and transportation.

With record unemployment numbers and economic uncertainty due to COVID-19, policymakers and industry executives are trying to navigate ways to keep business moving while taking care of their constituents with meaningful, competitive jobs. Apprenticeship programs remain a key component of that strategy.

Since the Great Recession in 2008, Public Consulting Group (PCG) has been partnering with clients to design and pioneer federally-funded, national-leading workforce development programs. With rising student debt and industry concern about available competitive talent, federal workforce policymakers have moved to investing in apprenticeship programs. PCG has partnered to execute.

An unfortunate reality of today’s job market is that IT workers are in short supply while millions of people are underemployed or unemployed. Tech apprenticeship programs offer an effective—and mutually beneficial—approach to bridging the gap between employers and IT job seekers, according to a new LinkedIn article by Public Consulting Group’s (PCG’s) Uri Shatten.