Cindy Gonzalez
LINCOLN — A workforce development proposal that would direct an annual $4 million in state funds to a new apprenticeship initiative received mostly positive feedback during a Monday legislative hearing.
State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner introduced Legislative Bill 993 to create the Apprenticeship Grant Act.
Under the program, a business would apply to the Department of Economic Development for reimbursement of wages or tuition for apprentices, who also must be in a public assistance program such as SNAP Next.
Ibach said the participating business, in turn, is to have a full-time job waiting for the apprentice that offers wages high enough to reduce the worker’s reliance on government economic aid.
Grants are limited to $37,000 per apprentice and 100 apprentices per business. The business must certify that the apprenticeship is part of a registered program.
The initiative is modeled after the Ignite Nebraska program launched at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska in 2022.
Joni Wheeler, Blue Cross’ executive vice president of talent and enterprise solutions, said 14 graduates of the program no longer are reliant on state assistance. They’re working at Blue Cross, Union Pacific Railroad or Boys Town.
“Our objective is to scale the program across the state of Nebraska,” said Wheeler, in rural and urban communities.
“This bill is a game changer in workforce development,” she said. She said the recipients get “power to lift up their families.”
A few who spoke during the legislative hearing before the Business and Labor Committee suggested tweaks to the bill, including raising the state’s annual contribution and providing more flexibility in the post-training hiring process.
The committee on Monday did not take any action on advancing the bill.