Keystone Development Partnership

KEYSTONE DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP IS DEDICATED TO DEVELOP OR ENHANCE LABOR/MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIPS BY ENGAGING WORKING MEN AND WOMEN AND THEIR EMPLOYERS IN CREATING WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS BY ACCESSING THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA.

REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP (RA) NAVIGATOR PROGRAM & KEYSTONE APPRENTICESHIP ALLIANCEKDP CONTINUES TO IMPLEMENT ITS REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP NAVIGATOR, AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM THAT TRAINS PEOPLE TO DEVELOP AND MANAGE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. REGISTERED IN THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA AND PILOTED IN 2019, THE ONE-YEAR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM INCLUDES 2,000 HOURS OF ON-THE-JOB TRAINING (OJT) PLUS 144 HOURS OF RELATED TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION (RTI). A TOTAL OF 100 NAVIGATOR APPRENTICES HAVE BEEN ENROLLED IN THE FIRST FIVE COHORTS (2018-2024). TO DATE, 57 NAVIGATORS HAVE COMPLETED THE PROGRAM AND ANOTHER 27 REMAIN ACTIVE IN PURSUING THEIR JOURNEYWORKER CERTIFICATION. FORTY-TWO NAVIGATORS HAVE BEEN AFFILIATED WITH THE COMMONWEALTH'S WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM, INCLUDING 34 FROM PA CAREERLINKS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS, AND 8 FROM THE PA OFFICE OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION (OVR). OTHER NAVIGATORS ARE AFFILIATED WITH 12 EMPLOYERS, 9 UNIONS, AND 23 TRAINING PROVIDERS. KDP IS RECEIVING STRONG INTEREST FOR ITS NEXT COHORT OF NAVIGATORS, TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED TO BEGIN IN LATE 2024. SUCCESSFUL NAVIGATORS BECOME MEMBERS OF THE KEYSTONE APPRENTICESHIP ALLIANCE (KAA), KDP'S GROWINGSTATEWIDE NETWORK OF APPRENTICESHIP INTERMEDIARIES ABLE TO ASSIST UNIONS AND EMPLOYERS TOEXPAND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS INTO NEW OCCUPATIONS AND INDUSTRIES. THROUGH THE COMMUNITYOF PRACTICE MODEL, THE KAA PROVIDES ITS 150+ MEMBERS WITH A PLATFORM TO COLLABORATE,SHARE BEST PRACTICES, AND ADVOCATE FOR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS TO POLICY MAKERS, EMPLOYERS,AND COMMUNITY LEADERS.

INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS AND LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS (LWDBS)KDP CONTINUES TO LEAD INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS THE STATE, A ROLE IT HAS PLAYED SINCE ITS INCEPTION. INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS BRING TOGETHER BUSINESS, EDUCATION, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO ADDRESS THE WORKFORCE AND OTHER COMPETITIVENESS NEEDS OF THE TARGETED INDUSTRY. OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, KDP HAS HELPED MANAGE FOUR INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS (IPS): TWO FOCUSED ON ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, ONE ON BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES, AND ONE ON HEALTHCARE. THE LATTER IS A NEW PARTNERSHIP THAT RESULTED FROM A HEALTHCARE EMPLOYMENT ECOSYSTEM PROJECT IN SOUTHWESTERN PA THAT KDP FACILITATED IN 2022.KDP ALSO PROVIDES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS TO: BUILD THE CAPACITY OF LWDBS AND THEIR STAFF. ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR THREE-YEAR PLANS. EXPAND TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS IN THEIR REGIONS

PA L&I APPRENTICESHIP & TRAINING OFFICE STRATEGIES FOR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMSKDP HAS PARTNERED WITH THE PA APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING OFFICE (ATO) SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2016. AS A STATE APPRENTICESHIP AGENCY, THE ATO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GUIDING AND PROMOTING THE EXPANSION OF APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS ACROSS THE STATE. IN 2023, THIS INCLUDED FINALIZING THE DISTRIBUTION OF $1.2 MILLION IN APPRENTICESHIP STATE EXPANSION (ASE) GRANT FUNDING AWARDED TO THE ATO TO SUPPORT DIVERSE APPRENTICES. LAST YEAR, KDP ALSO FINISHED ASSISTING THE ATO IN ITS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES THROUGH ITS SAE2020 GRANT, INCLUDING THE UPDATING OF APPRENTICESHIP REGISTRATION STANDARDS, AN OVERHAUL OF THE ATO'S APPRENTICESHIP WEBSITES, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF 22 NEW RESOURCES THAT HELP POTENTIAL SPONSORS DEVELOP, REGISTER AND MANAGE THEIR RA & PRE-RA PROGRAMS, AND THAT HELP INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAMS.MOST RECENTLY, KDP TOOK THE LEAD ROLE IN WRITING THE ATO'S SUCCESSFUL $4 MILLION APPRENTICESHIP BUILDING AMERICA (ABA) GRANT PROPOSAL, AND THE AWARD IS NOW SUPPORTING ONE KDP FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE (FTE) TO HELP IMPLEMENT THE PROPOSED ACTIVITIES UNTIL MID-2025. THE OVERALL GOALS OF THE PROPOSAL ARE TO HELP EMBED A FOCUS ON APPRENTICESHIP WITHIN THE PA'S WORKFORCE SYSTEM AND CATALYZE CTC-LED PRERA TO RA CAREER PATHWAYS. A SECOND CONTRACT FOR KDP TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO PARTICIPANTS WITH ABA FUNDS WAS FINALIZED IN EARLY 2024.

KDP IS A SUB-RECIPIENT TO A GRANT WITH WAI FROM THE USDOL FOR A PROJECT UNDER APPRENTICESHIP: CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP GRANT PROGRAM. THE FIVE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP FOR MANUFACTURING APPRENTICESHIP (PAMA) INITIATIVE IS PROVIDING SUPPORT TO MANUFACTURING APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS NATIONWIDE THROUGH A COMBINATION OF APPRENTICESHIP-FOCUSED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND INCENTIVE FUNDING TO HELP DEFRAY THE COSTS OF APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAMS. KDP IS IN YEAR FIVE OF THE FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT, FINISHING FEBRUARY 2025. KDP IS ALSO ONE OF 10 WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARIES PARTNERING WITH JFF ON A FOUR-YEAR PROGRAM SUPPORTED BY THE USDOL THAT FOCUSES ON DIVERSITY AND EQUITY ISSUES IN THE ADVANCED MANUFACTURING COMMUNITY. THE IMPROVING DIVERSITY & EQUITY IN APPRENTICESHIPS FOR MANUFACTURING (IDEA-M) INITIATIVE IS CURRENTLY IN ITS FOURTH YEAR (COMPLETING SEPTEMBER 2024). THE INITIATIVE SUPPORTS 750 APPRENTICES ANNUALLY WITH A TARGET OF RECRUITING 50% FROM UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS INCLUDING WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR. KDP LEVERAGES INCENTIVE FUNDING FROM ITS WAI CONTRACT TO HELP ACHIEVE OUTCOMES. AS PROJECT MANAGER FOR PENNSYLVANIA, KDP ALIGNS OUTREACH WITH THE PA AFL-CIO, THE PA APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING OFFICE AND THE PA LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD NETWORK