Mary Taylor, industry training specialist in the Office of Career and Technical Education at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), was named an Apprentice Ambassador by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on July 12.

The DOL announced the selection of the initial cohort of 207 officials and organizations chosen to serve as Apprenticeship Ambassadors to share their experiences and collaborate with the department to champion apprenticeship opportunities.

In November 2021, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative, which seeks to create a national network of employers, labor organizations, industry associations, program sponsors, educators, workforce intermediaries, minority serving organizations, community-based organizations and other stakeholders to serve as champions for expanding and diversifying Registered Apprenticeship.

The inaugural group of Apprenticeship Ambassadors consists of diverse partners from multiple industries who have demonstrated a willingness to use their Registered Apprenticeship experience and expertise to promote and expand these programs across all industries.

Those named have committed to hosting 3,367 outreach and recruitment activities, 892 training session and 717 promotional meetings. They have also pledged to develop 460 new Registered Apprenticeship programs and 387 resources in their first year as ambassadors.

The DOL’s Office of Apprenticeship will collaborate with Apprenticeship Ambassadors to promote Registered Apprenticeship as part of the department’s commemoration of the 85th Anniversary of the National Apprenticeship Act on Aug. 16, 2022. The commemoration will continue through the remainder of the year, and include National Apprenticeship Week, Nov. 14-20, 2022.

Organizations that have a minimum of one year of experience with Registered Apprenticeship are eligible to apply to become an Apprenticeship Ambassador.