Once again – the Katy area is leading the way.

The newest initiative of the Katy Area Economic Development Council (EDC) is a Registered Apprenticeship program designed to help employers address their talent needs by upskilling and reskilling both new hires and current employees. Through a structured, customizable training plan, developed in collaboration with the Department of Labor and the Office of Apprenticeship, the EDC staff ensures that each program is tailored to meet the specific needs of each participating business.

“We’re proud to be the first and only Economic Development Council in the U.S. to serve as an Apprenticeship Sponsor,” reads a statement on the EDC’s website. “By championing non-traditional apprenticeship pathways—across fields like healthcare, renewable energy (including solar, battery technology, and hydrogen), and advanced manufacturing—we offer essential support to employers throughout our tri-county region.”

“We’ve never done this here and this is something that was new for us to get involved with,” said Angie Thomason, KAEDC President/CEO in an interview with the Katy Times. “We are here to help the companies coming into town. We want the people in our community to have jobs and we want them to have good jobs, and we can assist them with that, and involve these companies in this apprenticeship program to get employees trained.”

Susan Dixon, marketing and business development manager for the EDC who manages the program, added, “There are always two core components to economic development – one is industry and the other is workforce and you’ve got to have both – one doesn’t survive without the other,” Dixon said. “This takes it to the next level in workforce. Because of the background I come from, it allows us to do a whole lot more because of where I came from and who I have access to.”

”A lot of people say that they have an apprenticeship program but unless it is truly registered with the Department of Labor and they recognize it as a true apprenticeship program – it’s not,” Dixon said. “We’re the only EDC in the whole United States with a registered apprenticeship program.” Dixon brings over 20 years of experience, having worked with the Houston Galveston Area Council prior to joining the EDC.

What exactly is an apprenticeship program?

The EDC seeks to work with small, medium and large companies to assist them in building their own talent. Each program is customized to the participating company’s needs, with the goal of retaining, investing in and growing the company’s own internal talent. Employees can "earn while they learn," gaining new skills that directly benefit the company’s operations.

“The employer themselves -- because of everything they do – they are so busy trying to run their own business, they don’t have time to do the back end of it, the administrative work, the red tape,” said Dixon. ‘That’s where we come on board. It gives [the employer] access to additional resources to help offset the cost for training so that they can have those extra hands – we take on all that administrative

legwork. We must have that line of communication – are apprentices showing up, are they doing what they are supposed to be doing with on-the-job training and related technical classroom training and are they moving to the next level? Or are they staying a little bit longer in a certain benchmark before they move up?”

It is a very “employer-centric” program, said Dixon. “The employer helps design the program with the Department of Labor – they own it but with [the EDC] as a sponsor, it goes under our umbrella. We are more or less the ‘bus drivers.’”

What kinds of businesses are participating in this program?

“You can do a registered apprenticeship program in any business as long as there are three or more employees and they are w2 employes and they have some ability to move up in a career path within the company,” said Dixon. “You could do it in advanced manufacturing, healthcare – a lot of the nontraditionals. It’s not just the union shops anymore – we’re getting into megatronics, robotics and advanced manufacturing. We’re getting into healthcare – it can be any occupation as long as there is a career pathway that is linked to it

How long does an apprenticeship last?

“It is different by occupation,” Dixon said. “The minimum for a registered apprenticeship is one year which is 2000 hours of on-the-job training and 140 hours of ‘related technical.’ What normally happens is that we are working with our contact at the Department of Labor – it just depends on the mastery level that you want somebody to obtain. Each occupation is different; an electrician may take four, six or eight years where a megatronics technician who is dealing with advanced manufacturing may need two years. Or in healthcare, it could be an X-ray tech who could do it in one year.”

The program’s cost to employer is in time and in the wages they pay their mentors as well as pay increases as the apprentices advance to the next level in the company as they pursue their career path, said Dixon. Employer must pay prevailing wages, Dixon said. However, the Katy Area EDC will actively seek opportunities to offset some of the training costs, making it an even more cost-effective solution, says the EDC website.

In addition to having the EDC handle the administrative side of an apprenticeship program, there are other benefits. “It is a known fact that retention, structured training and loyalty from the employer and ‘skin in the game’ from both the employer and employee – your ability to keep and grow your workforce is tenfold,” said Dixon,

Currently there are three companies participating in the KAEDC’s apprenticeship program, but due to confidentiality agreements, Dixon was unable to share the names of those companies or more details about the current programs. There are almost 300 local employees participating in the programs currently, she said.

The EDC is also in negotiations with other companies. Dixon said that because the program does not have zip code boundaries, she is free to negotiate with any companies in Texas and throughout the U.S.

Katy-are businesses who want more information on the program should reach out to Dixon directly at 281-396-2200 or via email at sdixon@katyedc.org.