Maine Apprenticeship Council Meeting

October 6, 2016: 9:30 AM
Frances Perkins Room, 45 Commerce Dr, Augusta

Maine Apprenticeship Council Annual Meeting Minutes October 6, 2016

Present: Chris Trider, IBEW 1253; Jennifer McKenna, 716 JATC; Linda Hussey, Maine Apprenticeship Program; Allan Shepard, IBEW 567; Joan Dolan, Maine Apprenticeship Program; Charles McNeil, USDOL/Office of Apprenticeship; Trisha Mosher, ABC Maine; Rick Fecteau, Sheet Metal Workers Local 17; and Joshua Howe, State Workforce Investment Board Participation by Zoom: Jennifer Boynton, MaineGeneral Medical Center; Dawn Croteau, Aspire-TANF; Denise Garland, DECD

Agenda Item Discussion Follow up Meeting called to order and Introductions Chris called the meeting to order and introductions were made.
Review of July 2016 meeting minutes Jen McKenna made a motion to accept the minutes. Trish Mosher seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous to approve. New Business Colorado Video Joan showed the video of a group of Colorado professionals that traveled to Switzerland to study their successful apprenticeship program.
The Council discussed pre-apprenticeships in Maine. It was agreed that pursuing pre-apprenticeships was necessary. Joan has had contact with Nestle Water and they are interested in pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships in Maine. Joan shared the video with the State Workforce Investment Board. The Chair of the SWIB is familiar with the Governor of Colorado and some of the members that took the trip to Switzerland. He may be able to connect us to these folks for discussion about their experience in Switzerland and how it is playing out in Colorado. Linda and Joan are working with the Department of Education to have some joint pre-apprenticeship opportunities for the CTE students. Linda is working with Edward Little High School in the same manner.

The Council agreed that there is a need to continue to meet and discuss pre-apprenticeships Grant

Next SWIB Meeting The MAP Grant submission did not upload correctly and was incomplete. Maine is not in contention for any of the funds.

January 13, 2017 in the Marion Martin Room.

We will continue to seek out grants to apply for to promote apprenticeship in the State of Maine.

Old Business Status of By-laws- The conflict of interest and closed meetings sections need to be finalized. The revisions from the last meeting need to be added to the document. Joan will do these updates and let Chris know if she needs any help. Sub Committee Update

Sub Committee Updates cont.

Sponsor Tracking Sub-Committee- Following up with sponsors is an ongoing process. This sub-committee will most likely continue to meet. The pending files were split into occupations. Jen Boynton took the medical files; Denise Garland took the bigger business files; and Chris Trider took the electrical businesses. Linda focused on the funeral homes. There were some contacts made and responses ranged from ?we are still interested to we are no longer pursuing it?.

National Apprenticeship Week Sub- Committee- The group met twice. Originally the committee focused on having an open house/recognition event in three areas of the state. Linda scheduled space for these events in Portland, Bangor and Augusta. Linda met with Cheryl Moran, MDOL, who is in charge of the Silver Collar Award. Cheryl highly recommended that an outline of the recognition awards be drafted and shared with the council prior to doing any recognition events. This will clearly outline how someone is chosen for apprentice of the year, sponsor of the year and educator of the year. Based on this recommendation, the group agreed to postpone recognition events until a draft is approved by the Council. The focus during National Apprenticeship Week will be outreach and sponsor events. The outreach will include posters (thank you Denise for the design) that will be placed around the state. We will try to do a public announcement on apprenticeship, as well.
The Sub-committee recommended selecting a date later in 2017 to do a Maine Apprenticeship event such as the open house with recognitions. Charlie McNeil shared that events occurring outside of National Apprenticeship Week could still be considered part of National Apprenticeship recognition.

Denise would like to see her staff trained in starting the paperwork process. Chris is communicating with one electrical company where the sponsor and apprentice can?t agree on the related instruction. He may travel to this business and meet with individuals at the same time.

Friday, November 18th- IBEW 567 is planning a graduation. More information to come. Tuesday, November 15th- Maine General Medical Center graduation. More information to come.

Charlie will send Joan images for the poster that will be crisper to use along with a note that says they can be copied.

The Council recommended a date for Maine Apprenticeship Day- April 26, 2017.

Charlie?s Report

Charlie?s report Cont. Rapids 2.0- will be rolled out at the end of October. We will be using both the old and new version of Rapids for a little while. New sponsors should be held until we can add them into the new data base. The new data base will generate new sponsor access directly by sending a password to the sponsor. We will be able to print certificates directly from Rapids. There is a court case that has been holding up the roll out.

WIOA Review- Maine Apprenticeship is the model in the country according to the review. There was a 2012 letter on 29/29 compliance that was not addressed. Charlie will send Joan a copy of the letter that requested finalized legislation to be sent in.

The equity and industry grants were sent out.

Charlie shared a bulletin on colleges, trade groups, etc. sponsoring apprenticeship. All companies under a sponsor must agree to the same set of standards and an affirmative action plan. There is a letter template that can be signed by all, allowing individual wage scales.

There is a meeting in Chicago on October 27, 2016, ?Chicago Women in Trades? supported by the Accelerator grants. Charlie will send Joan the invite.

Need to be aware when a union has contracts with companies who might also be represented by a trade association or other sponsorship representing companies. Apprentices can?t be registered under both.

Charlie will send Joan the invite. Joan?s Report Joan met with Jim McGowan from the Community College System. The meeting went well.

MaineGeneral Medical Center, Medical Assistant recruitment event was a big success. This will eventually become an apprenticeship program.

Maine was awarded a Northern Border Regional Commission Grant.

Coastal Counties applied for a healthcare grant. This will include apprenticeship.

Tax Credit discussions- Joan is pursuing this within MDOL. Denise met with an expert who is also investigating this as well.

TAA (lay off aversion funds)- It may be a possibility to access some of these funds for apprenticeship.

CVS in very interested in apprenticeship in Maine. They are also interested in discussing New Mainers. Joan will be pursuing a meeting with the Community College System representatives.

This will be rolled out in November 2016.

Joan will continue to investigate ways to fund apprenticeships.

The next phone discussion is scheduled for October 26th. Council Seats

Council Seats Cont. Chris announced that he is retiring from IBEW 1253 in November 2016. He is willing to stay on as Chair of MAP until someone else can be voted into office. He is also willing to consider an appointment to a public seat in the future. Bob Bourgault has asked to speak to Joan as he has been unable to attend many council meetings in recent months. Joan recently found out that Bruce Davis, representing the Community College System, has retired. His seat will need to be filled. Gail Senese, occupying a State Workforce Board Seat, hasn?t attended a meeting for some time due to her busy schedule. Joan will contact her about the future.

Brian Watson?s business seat needs to be filled.

The Governor has Peter Osborn?s Council recommendation on his desk for review. Joan is working with Job Corp in an attempt to fill a vacant seat. It would most likely be Tracey Cooley. Marion Sprague, Manufacturing Association of Maine, is waiting for the Governor?s approval. Brian Watson?s seat needs to be filled.

A representative from Associated General Contractors has voiced an interest.

New Legislation With the possible, pending legalization of marijuana in Maine, Would a marijuana company be approved to be a sponsor of apprenticeship? Charlie clarified that due to federal statutes, this would not be approved.
Upcoming Meeting Schedule January 5, 2017 9:30- 12:00 April 6, 2017 9:30-12:00 Joan will speak to Jennifer Boynton about having the January meeting at MGMC. Adjournment Chris Trider motioned to adjourn the meeting and Allan Shepard seconded the motion.

Submitted by Linda Hussey, Apprenticeship Program Specialist

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