Governor John Bel Edwards Apprenti Program

The apprenticeship program recently placed graduates in IT jobs in Louisiana

Baton Rouge, May 7, 2019 – Governor John Bel Edwards acknowledged and congratulated 9 Apprenti Louisiana graduates today. The program’s recent graduates have completed their required cybersecurity training and subsequent examinations and have been placed in jobs with the program’s partner companies including TraceSecurity, General Informatics, EATEL Business, Transformyx, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. This registered apprenticeship program is run by NexusLA and is powered by Apprenti, and is supported by the Louisiana Workforce Commission and the Office of Apprenticeship, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, and LANtec of Louisiana Corporate Training Center.

Apprenti Louisiana, first announced in October of 2018, has spent the past several months sourcing, screening, and training apprentices for their eventual roles in the technology workforce. Now, these 9 apprentices have graduated from the program and have been placed in cybersecurity analyst roles throughout the capital region.

Apprenti - created by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) in 2016 - expanded nationally last year and now operates in 9 other states besides Louisiana. The Apprenti Louisiana program identifies employers with available mid-tier jobs ready to be filled with tech-interested people, regardless of educational background or experience. Unlike traditional job-training options, apprentices receive 10-24 weeks of certified technical training before completing one year of paid on-the-job training at one of the program’s hiring companies.

“Thanks to the support of our partners and Governor Edwards’ initiatives in the tech sector, Apprenti Louisiana has been every bit as successful as we hoped it could be,” explained Genevieve Silverman, President & CEO of Research Park Corporation, the parent company of NexusLA. “The success of this pilot program will allow NexusLA to expand into Louisiana’s other geographic markets and additional IT roles, providing high-paying jobs for Louisiana residents, and catalyzing further growth and expansion of Louisiana’s technology employers.”

For more information on Apprenti Louisiana, visit: https://apprenticareers.org/locations/louisiana/

About NexusLA

NexusLA, a subsidiary of Research Park Corporation, helps create the jobs of the future by connecting innovators and entrepreneurs to resources, capital and a diverse workforce. Major initiatives include the Louisiana Entrepreneur Assistance Portal, the Investment Readiness Program, Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week, the Bayou Classic BizTech Challenge, and now Apprenti Louisiana. Our sister company, Louisiana Technology Park, operates a business incubator for high-potential technology companies. For more information, contact Genevieve Silverman, President & CEO of Research Park Corporation, at gen@nexus-la.org or (225) 218-0001.

About Apprenti

Apprenti is a registered apprenticeship program powered by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). Apprenti trains future tech workers with an emphasis on underrepresented groups including women, minorities and veterans. Apprenti is an industry recognized, state and federally accredited program. Apprentices receive two to five months of full-time, industry recognized training before beginning one-year of paid on-the-job training with one of the program's hiring partners. The program is partially funded through a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) ApprenticeshipUSA contract and a grant from the American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI), with support from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), and JP Morgan Chase.