FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2021 – In November and December 2021, Edge Factor and our partners successfully hosted thousands of Apprenticeship events across North America! The widely used Edge Factor platform provided a free Apprenticeships Toolkit that highlighted the power of apprenticeship programs and showcased apprenticeable career pathways with inspiring videos, interactive activities, lesson plans and more. The Apprenticeships Toolkit was freely available in November and December for families, schools, companies, and workforce leaders to host events and share free multimedia tools online.
The Apprenticeships toolkit received over 5500+ views and was accessed by over 1500 locations globally. School districts and individual schools used the tools in classrooms and in assemblies. With page views across 130 School Districts (representing hundreds of schools), 1210 individual schools, 54 Postsecondary institutions, and 62 Economic & Workforce Development Leaders and Chambers of Commerce either hosting events and presentations, watching and/or sharing the media, this content was seen by tens of thousands of students, families and job-seekers.
In the US, National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) was celebrated on November 15 - 21, 202`1. The Apprenticeships Toolkit enabled schools, companies and workforce leaders across the US to host events to showcase the successes and value of apprenticeships for re-building our economy, advancing racial and gender equity, and supporting underserved communities.
In the US, 912 events were hosted across 46 states and in Canada, 341 events were hosted across 10 provinces. Globally, 248 events were hosted across 10 countries. All in only 2 months!
We want to take a minute to say a big thank you to our partners California's Arts, Media & Entertainment, ABB Motors & Mechanical Inc., National Tooling and Machining Association, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, National Institute for Metalworking Skills, myBlueprint, Women in Manufacturing, and PMA Precision Metalforming Association for empowering communities across North America to discover the power of apprenticeships! This free, turnkey toolkit equipped educators, business and workforce development leaders to host live or virtual presentations to raise awareness of apprenticeable trades and programs.
It also included inspiring, empowering videos from Edge Factor’s new “Why Care?” series. This series features thought leaders sharing insights on important topics and how they impact students and job-seekers. Viewers were able to explore why they should care about apprenticeships and skilled trades and the characteristics of a good apprentice.
In the “Why Care?” series we hear from Executive Director, Montez King at NIMS whose story was featured in Edge Factor cinematic film Paradox. Some of the other industry thought leaders we hear from in this series include Community Engagement Coordinator, Valerie Vanderwyk from Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board, President and CEO of Mastercam, Meghan West, Cebert Adamson, Vice President of International and Alumni at Mohawk College, Jason Green Global HR Business Partner at ABB, and Tracy Long, Vice President Communications at ABB and many more.
To ensure school, workforce and industry leaders understood how to access and share this toolkit, we created "How To" Guides. These guides provided easy to use checklists for hosting a live or virtual event, a promotional kit with a customizable article, free images and social media captions.
Don’t miss out on the upcoming toolkits available for organizations to share in classrooms, homes, and at events:
- Future Skills Toolkit: available for free in January - February 2022 - As students are choosing which programs to enroll in for the following year, Edge Factor’s Future Skills toolkit will promote and celebrate technical education programs and encourage students to get involved! (This will be a great tool for US organizations to celebrate CTE Month too!)
- Diversity in Skilled Trades Toolkit: available for free in March - May 2022 - This toolkit is all about showcasing diverse people in diverse careers in the skilled trades. Coinciding with awareness days like March’s “International Women's Day” and April’s “Celebrate Diversity” Month, this toolkit will provide a ton of content for your organization and network to celebrate real life men and women who have launched rewarding career pathways.
- Summer Camp Toolkit: available for free in June - August 2022 - Summer Learning Programs and Summer Camps are in need of turnkey tools to engage students! This toolkit shows how Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math all come alive in real world careers! Perfect for summer camps or family activities.
- Rock MFG DAY: available for free in September - November 2022 - October is Manufacturing Day/ Month and we are providing the 2022 Rock MFG DAY kit for everyone to highlight the extraordinary world of advanced manufacturing. This toolkit includes resources to promote manufacturing careers and technology and showcase how STEAM comes alive in this industry.
Questions? Feedback? Contact us.
If you’re interested in a Premium Edge Factor membership, you can check out our Tools & Pricing page or email: info@edgefactor.com or message us on the Live Chat. We’d love to hear from you.
