D.C. Apprenticeship is Exposing Students to A Wider Scope of Careers

CareerWise Apprenticeships have teamed up with Accenture a multinational IT company where program participants have the opportunity to become proficient in skills like Microsoft Excel and Outlook while also helping Accenture’s HR department facilitate the onboarding process for new employees.

The three-year program, sponsored by the nonprofit CityWorks DC, prepares district high school students for careers in business operations, information technology, and finance. In the process, participants can earn debt-free college credit and nationally-recognized industry certifications. The arrangement also promises to diversify the pipeline of talent for positions often considered out of reach.

In 2020 Friendship Tech Prep Academy in Southeast, counted among more than a dozen young people who received white-collar apprenticeships with six employers through CareerWise DC. The number of participants in this CityWorks DC-sponsored program has since expanded to 50 youth and 36 companies.

“Our colleagues in Colorado started the model after seeing the impact of apprenticeships in Switzerland,” Durant added. “The model is operating in Denver, New York City, Buffalo, parts of Indiana, and other cities. The concept is there but each local jurisdiction has made it it's own.”

Lateefah Durant CityWorks DC Vice President of Innovation

Statistics as of February show that the district’s youth unemployment rate has reached six percent and ranks among the highest in the United States. This data has been adjusted for seasonal surges in employment during the summer months and accounts for young people between the ages of 16 and 24. Many attribute the causes of youth unemployment to include lack of job opportunities, limited work experience, and the increasing size of the current labor pool.

D.C.’s workforce problems mirror that of other U.S. cities. In 2016, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke before a group of corporate executives from whom he requested information about the diversity of their talent pool. In response, Jim Coleman, managing director of Accenture’s Chicago office, counted among those in the audience that day. He and others later helped develop and launch Accenture’s apprenticeship program that focuses on increasing diversity within the workplace.