Dataseam announced today Program Manager additions supporting its U.S. Department of Labor-approved Registered Apprenticeship for Information Technology.
Jill Roaden served as Chief Information Officer for Whitley County and Williamsburg (KY) Independent Schools. Roaden supports Registered Apprenticeship reporting compliance and On Job Learning documentation for Dataseam-participating districts.
Greg Payne, Dataseam Registered Apprenticeship Program Technical Instructor and Mentor
Greg Payne served as District Technology Coordinator for Hancock County Schools, Hawesville, KY. Payne supports Registered Apprenticeship Related Technical Instruction and Mentoring objectives required by the federal training program.
Dataseam currently sponsors a US DOL Registered Apprenticeship for Information Technology in program-participating K-12 schools. The Registered Apprenticeship is a two-year skilled trades program for high school juniors and seniors. It provides students the opportunity to train to support enterprise-level Information Technology needs.
The competency-based program requires coursework, paid employment, and mentorship. Participants who complete the program have the capacity to successfully enter the workforce directly upon high school graduation, pursuing meaningful, family-sustaining employment.
The Registered Apprenticeship is a two-year skilled trades program for high school juniors and seniors. It provides students the opportunity to train to support needs in an in-demand sector. The competency- based effort requires coursework, paid employment, and mentorship as part of successful completion. Participants who finish have the capacity to successfully enter the workforce directly from high school and pursue meaningful, family-sustaining employment.
“The Registered Apprenticeship allows students to master the foundational technology skills to support the cornerstones of any community – education, banking, healthcare, state and local government”, states Greg Payne. “Succession planning is vital for all of these, and when that talent pool is not available, Kentucky has to grow it.”
Roaden adds, “While Apprentices will have 2 years of work experience making them more immediately employable than many college graduates, they may elect to go to college. The Apprenticeship provides options pursuing majors in computer science, instructional technology, or aerospace-related fields.”
Jill Roaden, Dataseam Registered Apprenticeship Reporting Compliance and OJT Manager
Apprentices earn Apple MacBook Pro laptops to assist their classroom and work-based learning. Upon completion of the DOL-approved program, these devices follow them to their next training at university or directly into the workforce. Participating K-12 districts earn new Apple technology supporting advanced curriculum demands and engagement of students for successive apprenticeship cohorts. This proven Registered Apprenticeship model has been competitively funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, and Kentucky General Assembly.
“We are glad to have Jill and Greg leading this part of the Dataseam mission”, said Brian Gupton, Dataseam CEO. “They have each worked with our organization nearly 20 years serving students and staff to grow their communities. With the Registered Apprenticeship demand and expansion we have experienced, we now get the opportunity of that expertise to support workforce demands statewide.”
Dataseam’s Registered Apprenticeship initiatives have grown since 2018 through state and competitive federal funding. Currently, 59 Kentucky K-12 school districts participate in a variety of education and workforce development initiatives. The effort is the largest Registered Apprenticeship for Information Technology program in Kentucky. Registered Apprenticeship is a US Department of Labor program managed by the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.
Download a PDF of this press release HERE.
