Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia hosts convening of PAYA Network members

On June 27th, three members of the new PAYA Network from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware shared their plans, responses to challenges, and interest in future collaboration at a convening hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The convening, which included representatives of PAYA, state apprenticeship and education agencies, and the U.S. Department of Labor, underscored the value of connecting regional youth apprenticeship practitioners through a national network.

The tristate region is home to three members of the PAYA Network: the Philadelphia Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (Philadelphia PAYA), Youth Apprenticeship Delaware (YA Delaware), and the New Jersey Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (NJ PAYA).

Each initiative has goals and challenges particular to its own regional context. YA Delaware is focused primarily on apprenticeship in the building trades, and although it benefits from tightly interconnected K–12 and technical college systems, its team members have still had to work hard to help the construction sector’s many small independent contractors provide a consistent, high-quality learning experience for their youth apprentices. NJ PAYA faces a similar challenge with its automotive technician programs, which also require coordination among many smaller employers; on the other hand, it faces very different challenges in its new paramedic youth apprenticeship at RWJBarnabas Health, New Jersey’s largest hospital system.

But despite their different contexts, youth apprenticeship practitioners generally share many of the same challenges and concerns. Even among familiar faces in the overlapping economies of Delaware, New Jersey, and the Philadelphia metro area, the wealth of experience and expertise in a room of two dozen workforce and education professionals left everyone with something new to think about. Over the course of the day, attendees shared insights and best practices on topics from credit articulation to pre-apprenticeship, to financial management and apprentice data.

The PAYA Network, a national learning community with nearly 50 members, will be most effective if it is supported by coordinated regional efforts that bring together neighboring initiatives in the pursuit of common needs and goals. New America is grateful for the dedicated leadership of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, whose Community Development and Regional Outreach Department (CDRO) has conducted research on opportunity occupations and automation, and is updating the Apprenticeship Guide on the Bank’s website.

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