January 17, 2018
Page 13
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O PINION
Look at What We’ve Done with Apprenticeships
Bridging the gap
for job readiness
D onalD ii
Over the last decades,
many American inner cit-
ies have seen an econom-
ic resurgence. Buoyed by
millennials and people’s
desire to shorten their dai-
ly work commute, neigh-
borhoods and communities that were
all but pronounced dead two decades
ago now find themselves flush with
new businesses and residents.
This is no more evident than here
in the District of Columbia, where the
economic recovery of the city has been
nothing short of breathtaking. Howev-
er, as many have noted, this growth has
not been equally beneficial to all resi-
dents.
While policymakers and advocates
search for answers and solutions to this
problem, there is one time-tested and
by oDie
proven tool that should be a key part
of any workforce development strategy
-- apprenticeships.
Introduced in the 14th century, ap-
prenticeships combine on-the-job
training with classroom instruction,
teaching workers the practical and the-
oretical aspects of highly-skilled oc-
cupations. Apprenticeship programs
can be sponsored by employers, labor
groups, or employer associations.
Traditional apprenticeship pro-
grams have been primarily relegated to
labor fields, such as carpentry or pipe-
fitting, but there are a growing number
of companies offering them in high
skill and high wage fields, such as IT
and engineering.
While we understand that the wage
and employment gaps cannot be com-
pletely closed until the educational and
systematic inequalities in this country
are addressed, strong apprenticeship
programs can help bridge the gap be-
tween the shortcoming of our educa-
tion system and job readiness for high
wage sectors.
Urban policymakers should make a
strong investment in funding appren-
ticeship programs that help those from
their most underserved communities
enter into career fields with strong earn-
ings and growth. By providing strong
hands on training in high wage and high
growth fields, such as tech or entrepre-
neurship, policymakers can help resi-
dents who may not have received ade-
quate educational preparation build key
job skills and find stable employment.
Furthermore, in a political environ-
ment where big initiatives can often
be hard to implement, apprenticeship
programs have long had bipartisan
support. The U.S. Department of La-
bor reports that over 91 percent of all
apprentices retain employment upon
completion of their apprenticeship.
Here in the District of Columbia, we
have committed to increasing the num-
ber of registered apprenticeships. In
September, we awarded approximately
$400,000 in grants to local businesses
and community-based organizations
that target the IT, construction and in-
frastructure industries.
Apprenticeship DC promotes both
pre-apprenticeship and registered ap-
prenticeship work-based learning mod-
els. Over the next year, we will work
with local business owners and com-
munity advocates to build upon this
effort and target resources to maximize
the number of apprenticeships avail-
able for our communities.
Through this initiative and the D.C.
Infrastructure Academy, we hope to
prove that we are committed to ensur-
ing that all District residents are able
to participate in the growing economy.
As officials and policymakers in
other urban areas deal with their own
economic gaps, I hope that they will
take a look at what we have done here
in the District with our apprenticeship
programs and embrace this model as a
strong workforce development tool.
Odie Donald II is director of the DC
Department of Employment Services.
Hollywood Won’t Destroy Sexism, But We Can
Oprah gives
a voice to the
voiceless
r azan a zzarkani
This month’s Gold-
en Globes were the first
awards ceremony held
since #MeToo went vi-
ral. To commemorate
it, celebrities brought
social justice activists along as their
plus-ones, and many more wore black
to show support with the Time’s Up
movement, a new Hollywood initiative
to purge the industry of predators.
While I’m sure they mean well, re-
pairing the damage is going to take
more than wearing black.
After all, Hollywood has collective-
ly spent years perpetuating a rape cul-
ture, a sexist culture that did absolutely
nothing for women of color, working
women, women in the gay and trans
communities, women of diverse reli-
gious backgrounds, and others. In fact,
it often did the absolute opposite.
Elite men accused of abusing women
have not only repeatedly gotten away
with it — they’ve been praised for their
work, given awards, and offered new
jobs. Men such as Woody Allen, Casey
Affleck, Johnny Depp, Bill Cosby, and
Harvey Weinstein. Only recently have
by
some faced some sort of consequences.
But then there was Oprah.
Oprah Winfrey won this year’s Ce-
cil B. Demille award for “outstanding
contributions to the world of entertain-
ment.” The first black woman to get
the prize, she accepted her award
to a standing ovation — and gave a
rousing speech that inspire
She talked about the women who
aren’t talked about: the domestic
workers, the women working for
minimum wage, women who have
who don’t have the luxury of being
the famous, rich, mostly white women
with more power to speak.
No longer will women have to re-
main silent and endure because “this
is what men do” or believe these are
experiences that come with being a
woman. No longer will women have to
be shamed into silence because they ar-
en’t believed, because they’re not rich
enough, white enough, pretty enough,
whatever enough to be believed.
The solution isn’t, as some are al-
The solution is to support
organizations that give voice
to women of color and other
marginalized groups – organizations
such as Know Your IX, National
Domestic Workers Alliance, INCITE!,
and Mending the Sacred Hope.
no choice but to be silent about their
abuse because they have a family to
feed. “For too long, women have not
been heard or believed if they dare
speak the truth to the power of those
men. But their time is up,” she said.
Oprah gave a voice to the voiceless,
ready demanding, for Oprah to run for
president. The solution is to listen to
women everywhere, and empower fe-
male activists in their work.
Women like Tarana Burke, senior di-
rector of Girls for Gender Equity and
founder of the #MeToo movement, and
Ai-jen Poo, director of the National
Domestic Workers Alliance.
Women like Aniqa Raihan and Lei-
lani Ganser, young activists I’ve had
the pleasure of working closely with.
They were brave and courageous
enough to publicly fight back against
their abusers after receiving little to no
help from their university campuses
where the assaults took place. Despite
stigma, backlash, and struggle, Rai-
han and Ganser continue to fight every
day for justice, for themselves and for
women everywhere.
The solution is to support organiza-
tions that give voice to women of color
and other marginalized groups – orga-
nizations such as Know Your IX, Na-
tional Domestic Workers Alliance, IN-
CITE!, and Mending the Sacred Hope.
Even Hollywood’s getting wise, the
New York Times reports. Time’s Up set
aside a $13 million legal fund “to help
less privileged women — like janitors,
nurses, and workers at farms, factories,
restaurants, and hotels — protect them-
selves from sexual misconduct and the
fallout from reporting it.”
“Speaking your truth is the most
powerful tool we all have,” Oprah said.
Until “nobody ever has to say ‘me too’
again.” A new day is indeed on the
horizon.
Razan Azzarkani is the executive as-
sistant at the Center for Global Policy.
Distributed by OtherWords.org.