ALPHARETTA, Ga., Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of National Apprenticeship Week, Xpanxion a wholly owned subsidiary of UST, announced today that it will launch 10 tech cohorts with employer partners in its Step IT Up ™ (SIU) national Registered Apprenticeship (RA) program, providing new paid "earn and learn" opportunities for job seekers in 11 states in 2022.

Today's announcement coincided with the national release of the program's newest video, showcasing current and graduated apprentices talking about the value of RA as a solid, well-paying career pathway. The video can be seen on Xpanxion's YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/4IIXyoww6io.

As an approved US Department of Labor (USDOL) RA Program and a Department of Defense SkillBridge program, Step IT Up can more easily and efficiently help employers diversify their workforce by providing industry-aligned training for veterans, women, and minorities.

"Apprenticeship creates the skilled, loyal workers that employers are looking for," said Olwyn DePutron, Director of Step IT Up. "However, despite its impressive return on investment – including a 92 percent retention rate for program completers - not enough employers are taking advantage of this workforce development model. We created a program to give our employer partners all of the benefits of apprenticeship while mitigating the most commonly-cited risks."

Through SIU, Xpanxion collaborates with employer partners to ensure that apprentices are gaining the skills and knowledge they need on the job. "Employers choose the occupation they want to hire and train for, determine class makeup, select applicants for training, customize the curriculum, and pay nothing until the apprentice successfully completes their training and begins their OJL," explains Connie Robbins, Step IT Up Apprenticeship Director.

Apprentices receive paid on-the-job learning (OJL) with mentoring, high-quality related Instruction to support the OJL, progressive wage Increases commensurate with skill gains, and a nationally recognized credential upon completion. 

With technical assistance and ongoing program support of Safal Partners, a USDOL national industry intermediary for cyber and tech occupations, Xpanxion is opening registration for an upcoming employer outreach webinar in January 2022. Register online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MKRZ9QP.

In particular, Xpanxion is interested in engaging companies from Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Tennessee among others.  According to Cyberseek.org these states alone represent 85,982 currently unfilled cybersecurity jobs.

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SOURCE Safal Partners