Maryland: State of the State

ESAC State Report 2024

Maryland Department of Labor

• Apprentice Office Details

The Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Workforce Development & Adult Learning is Maryland’s State Apprenticeship Agency. Within the Division, the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Program (MATP) carries out the administration Maryland’s Registered Apprenticeship programs, including supporting the State’s apprenticeship advisory council, the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council. MATP staff promote and regulate Registered and Youth Apprenticeship in Maryland, providing business and sponsor services, grant management, compliance reviews, and public outreach to support the programs.

 

Key Initiatives

 

Maryland was a recipient of a competitive 2023 State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula (SAEF) Competitive grant, which will support expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programming for key in demand and non-traditional industries.

 

Maryland sub awarded six public community colleges who will serve as Registered Apprenticeship sponsors and employer hubs for the hospitality sector. These new programs are intended to support the sector’s need for qualified management staff by using Registered Apprenticeship to extend career pathways for hospitality workers and embed in-demand degrees and credentials.

 

Additionally, Maryland has launched a Public Sector Registered Apprenticeship Innovation Fund. The Fund will incentive and seed new Registered Apprenticeships in Maryland’s public sector – meeting a critical workforce need amongst State agencies and county and municipal governments.

 

Maryland also continues to grow and promote its in-school Youth Apprenticeship initiative, the Apprenticeship Maryland Program (AMP). As of the 2023-2024 school year, AMP now serves around 1,000 high school juniors and seniors across the state with high quality standardized apprenticeship experiences. The program has seen exponential growth since its pilot launched in 2016 with hundreds of employers joining the program annually.

 

Youth Apprenticeship and continued expansion of Registered Apprenticeship are cornerstone priorities for Maryland’s Governor and the State has adopted ambitious cross-cutting Apprenticeship goals that are driving collaboration from workforce agencies, school systems, employers, and leaders across the state.

 

Statistics FY24

• Number of Apprentices 11,378 Apprentices Registered as of January 2024
• Number of New Apprentices 3,827 new Apprentices registered in 2023 and 848 in 2024
• Number of Completed Apprentices 2,016 completions in 2023 and 314 in 2024
• Number of Sponsors 210 active sponsors
• Number New Sponsors 41 new sponsors in 2023 and 3 in 2024

 

 

Workforce Partnerships

The Maryland Department of Labor has made great strides in mobilizing Local Workforce Development Boards and their related workforce agencies around Youth and Registered Apprenticeship. The State allocated $75 million of federal Coronavirus relief funding directly the Workforce Areas in support of new and innovative Apprenticeship and employment programs meant to both expand Apprenticeship and mitigate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Maryland’s economy. The funding has bolstered local partnerships and extended the capacity of Maryland’s public workforce system to support Registered Apprenticeship.

Notable Achievements

Baltimore, Maryland was selected as a Workforce Development hub by the Whitehouse, highlighting the significant federal infrastructure investments in the Baltimore Metro region. At the center of the Workforce Hub designation is the project labor agreement between Amtrak and the Baltimore-DC Building and Construction Trades Council for the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel Replacement Project. The PLA will create local benefits and Apprenticeship opportunities in the Baltimore-region as Amtrak, and its State and federal partners undertake this major project.

Amid Maryland’s continued growth, the MATP staff has also been expanded to meet the growing need for employer, sponsor, and apprentice support. In February 2024 the Maryland Department of Labor increased the size of MATP’s dedicated Apprenticeship staff from 14 to 32 fulltime staff members statewide.

Upcoming Events

Maryland is working with its Apprenticeship partners to coordinate the state’s observance of Youth Apprenticeship Week in May 2024.