Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1543032
FEBRUARY 2026 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 77 During the second year, the funding stream changed significantly. Federal funds were essen- tially frozen, and we were dependent upon find- ing funds at state and local levels. This past year, I identified funds to pair with employers who had expressed interest in year one about taking advan- tage of our apprenticeship opportunities. At the same time, I was also identifying other fund- ing opportunities that weren't limited to apprentice- ship but could include workforce training. In that second year, we secured just over a million dollars in funding, which was a huge accomplishment for our small team. Now in years three and four, we will be spending that money on apprenticeships and workforce training. Those are significant accomplishments. Can you share a success story? Blaylock: One of our biggest success stories is Mack Technologies, a Florida company that started its first cohort with 14 apprentices under the first- year funding, which the Association was able to provide. It allowed them to get started risk free from a capital outlay standpoint. We celebrated with a graduation ceremony onsite that was attended by the apprentices' families, local elected officials, and Mack's business leadership. That's when they clearly saw the value in the program and the interest from other employees to become apprentices, and so they registered their second cohort with 48 apprentices—over three times bigger than the first group. That is a tremendous success. I know some appren- ticeship programs focus on students and offer jobs afterward. Blaylock: Our employers have been utilizing incum- bent workers, so they already have jobs. There are employers who choose to create apprenticeships for new jobs and this model supports that. But to date, most participating companies are choosing to upskill existing employees. Your program has evolved and grown over the past three years, and you have many proven suc- cess stories to back that up. How can you encour- age companies to participate that are on the fence about doing an apprenticeship program? Hawkins: Reach out and ask us for help. It really can be as simple as saying, "I'm interested in this opportunity, but I'm not sure how I would pay for it. Can you help?" In most cases, I can identify fund- ing sources for them. For instance, Mack Tech- nologies enrolled 48 apprentices for its second cohort. That's a substantial cost to them, but they trusted us to identify funding that could help them, and in turn, we were able to offset those costs by more than half through a partnership with their workforce board. We have an employer in another state that wanted to get started with a small cohort and asked if we could help them find funding. We worked through their local workforce board to find funding to cover the full related technical instruction (RTI) costs to help offset their on-the-job training costs. This was significant to them, being able participate and prove out their own success. So, if you're hesitant to take the leap, ask for help and resources, because we have them or will find them for you. You won't get what you don't ask for. You have nothing to lose. Hawkins: Exactly. Our team is pretty creative. If you tell us what you need, we will find a way to help you make that work. Blaylock: My advice to employers considering apprenticeship is remembering not only that it strengthens your workforce and the contribution that you're making to your employees, but it really strengthens the industry as a whole. Having highly trained workers who understand standards and can work at an autonomous level will benefit the employer, but if they happen to go anywhere else during their career, it elevates the whole industry. I also would challenge employers to identify champions within their own organizations who are already passionate about training and workforce development. One reason that our employers have been so successful is because they have internal champions that partner with us. We can act as a sponsor and an intermediary, but ultimately your employees are boots on the ground working with the apprentices every day. Vicki and Cory, congratulations on the program's success and growth. I am huge supporter of this program. Blaylock: Thank you, Marcy. We look forward to sharing many more success stories. SMT007