Harper wins $2.5 million grant for apprenticeship programs

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded Harper College $2.5 million to support Apprenticeships on Demand, a new initiative that aims to integrate technical instruction and on-the-job learning to train workers in high-growth and high-demand fields including insurance, IT and manufacturing.

Harper was the only college in Illinois to be selected among the 46 applicants awarded a total of $175 million, the single largest investment to date to expand U.S. apprenticeships. Recipients have pledged to train and hire more than 34,000 new apprentices over the next five years.

In its grant application, Harper pointed to its new partnership with Zurich insurance emulating a successful dual education model in Switzerland to foster the next generation of underwriters and claims professionals. Apprentices will be paid employees of Zurich and earn academic credit and industry certifications beginning in January.

"It's great to see an important program gain the financial support necessary to make it a success," said Brian Little, head of Human Resources at Zurich North America. "We're looking forward to continuing our work with Harper College to inspire young people to take on new challenges and develop core business competencies in the insurance industry."

Harper is working to establish more apprenticeships, with an IT security apprenticeship, being developed as part of the grant, said Maria Coons, vice president of Workforce and Strategic Alliances at Harper.

The funding will also help the college's new manufacturing apprenticeship program, launched last month. That program also will benefit from $3.9 million awarded the Illinois Manufacturers' Association Education Foundation for the Illinois Advanced Apprenticeship Consortium, which includes the German American Chamber of Commerce Midwest and Harper.

More information on the apprenticeship programs is at harpercollege.edu.