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SCOTT PANAGROSSO As the Workforce Development and K-12 Liaison for ApprenticeshipNC, the state apprenticeship agency housed under the North Carolina Community College System, Scott's role includes helping program sponsors build pathways to apprenticeable occupations, training and education, connecting employers and employees, and strengthening community relationships. Scott believes that businesses and employees benefit from Registered Apprenticeship as a workforce development tool because it allows businesses to train an adaptable, skilled, and efficient workforce while providing employees with on-the-job training, related instruction, and a progressive wage scale. |
What is your background and how did you come to your position at ApprenticeshipNC?
I spent over 32 years of service as a US Army officer. When I retired, I had the opportunity to work on a grant-funded project to develop certified career pathways across two prosperity zones with the Division of Workforce Solutions at the NC Department of Commerce. In my next role as the NC Sector Strategy Coordinator, I worked collaboratively with key partners to identify career clusters and bring employers together to identify their common employment needs. My focus was to support North Carolina's 23 Workforce Development Boards (WDB) and assist them in building and sustaining industry-led partnerships across the state.
My interest and passion for building relationships in the workforce development sector led me to ApprenticeshipNC as an Apprenticeship Consultant in 2022. As an Apprenticeship Consultant, I have had the chance to shine a light on opportunities for occupations across the state. My role is evolving further, and I will take on additional efforts around workforce development and K-12 areas moving forward.
As an Apprenticeship Consultant, can you briefly discuss your efforts with NC Registered Apprenticeships?
My role at ApprenticeshipNC is to register, regulate, and grow Registered Apprenticeship in North Carolina. Often, people don’t really know what a Registered Apprenticeship is. They do not understand the outreach, program development, program administration, program compliance, relationships, and funding which all play a role in Registered Apprenticeship. My position is to educate and advocate for Registered Apprenticeship to help employers know if it is the right path for them.
Registered Apprenticeship is a tool for any employer who has a talent pipeline problem or anyone looking to build a talent pipeline that fits their company’s needs. With the increased economic development in North Carolina, and new business and industry coming into North Carolina, employers are having difficulty finding talent. Registered Apprenticeship is a tool that allows employers to customize on-the-job training and related instruction to fit their needs.
Can you give an example of this for Early Childhood Education (ECE) Registered Apprenticeships?
Yes! Due to economic and workforce growth in North Carolina, early childhood education is one of the many occupations experiencing workforce shortages. I work with childcare providers to address the three basic components of a Registered Apprenticeship as they build their program.
1. What do you want your Registered Apprentices to do for on-the-job training?
It can be overwhelming, but for every occupation, we have a sample checklist they can use and modify to make it totally unique to their position.
2. What do you want Registered Apprentices to formally learn through their related instruction (the classroom portion of the Registered Apprenticeship)?
Employers can offer related instruction in-house or partner with an educational institution that will provide it to their Registered Apprentices. ApprenticeshipNC is housed under the North Carolina Community College System, so I often share that we have 58 wonderful community colleges in NC. While I am an advocate of North Carolina’s community colleges, again, the employer can select their related instruction from any qualified source.
3. What is your progressive wage scale?
A progressive wage scale is a system that increases wages based on factors like skill level, experience, seniority, or job performance. The goal is to fairly reward employees for their contributions and to ensure that wage growth matches career advancement.
Wage schedules set an apprentice’s compensation as they progress and gain skills through the apprenticeship. Each wage amount is set relative to the wage of a skilled worker in the occupation. This schedule must include a minimum of three wages: a starting wage, intermediate wages provided upon selected milestones, and an exit wage when an apprentice has completed the program.
I want to help our programs succeed. To accomplish this goal, I place a heavy emphasis on building relationships with them and having a good rapport. Trust is vital in every step of the apprenticeship relationship. In an increasingly interconnected world, success hinges on the strength of our collaborative efforts and relationships. All new programs have compliance visits, and we work together to understand Registered Apprenticeship as a workforce development tool. At ApprenticeshipNC, we stay in constant contact with our programs. We know that tweaks might be needed, and we want to ensure that this tool works for sponsors, programs, and apprentices.
What challenges have you seen as you work on Registered Apprenticeships and ECE apprenticeships?
Many people think of the skilled trades when they think of Registered Apprenticeships. However, there are over 1,400 US Department of Labor (DOL) apprenticeable occupations. The challenge in the ECE Registered Apprenticeship has been the pay and progressive wage scale. As North Carolina’s population has grown, the demand for early childhood educators has gone up.
We are pleased to work with the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) and Building Bright Futures (BBF) to make the critical connection between North Carolina early childhood employers and the NC education systems through Work-Based Learning. The Division of Child Development and Early Education invested in this pilot to grow the early childhood workforce, and it has been successful.
The early childhood workforce industry needs help, and Registered Apprenticeship is viable option for building a trained workforce. Without good childcare, people cannot go to work! We are feeding and expanding the ECE trained population. Through our work with BBF, we are ensuring we will have trained individuals in place to fill these roles moving forward and, hopefully, the supply and demand part of our economy will support the industry.
Is there a highlight you want to share with us?
North Carolina has a youth apprentice tuition waiver program that provides a tuition waiver for high school students who enter a Registered Apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship program. Registered pre-apprentices have 120 days from the day they graduate to transition into a Registered Apprenticeship to remain eligible for the waiver. The waiver covers the cost of community college tuition for the duration of the apprenticeship training term. This can lead to a free community college degree or certification. ApprenticeshipNC reimburses colleges for waived tuition from its yearly budget.
If money were no object, what changes would you make?
I would want to try new ways to incentivize Registered Apprenticeship, to encourage employers to hire Registered Apprentices. I believe if they tried it, they would realize this pathway makes sense. Data shows us that Registered Apprentices stay longer on the job than hires right off the street applying for a job. Why? They have grown up in your organization with a mentor and training. They feel loyalty to the relationship that has been developed, and the employer is building their workforce. It’s a win-win for everyone.