Apprenticeship Ambassadors work on programs and ideas – PHOTO PROVIDED –
The U.S. Department of Labor, as part of its Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative, announced the selection of the initial cohort of 207 officials and organizations chosen to serve as Apprenticeship Ambassadors.
The ambassadors will share their experiences and collaborate with the department to champion apprenticeship opportunities, the department said.
In November 2021, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative to bring together industry, labor, education, equity and workforce leaders to partner with the department’s Office of Apprenticeship to promote Registered Apprenticeships as a valuable workforce strategy in high-demand industries to develop and expand opportunities for people historically underserved.
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.
The cohort is comprised of community-based organizations, educators, employers, industry associations, labor organizations, workforce partners, equity partners and state organizations, the department said.
The ambassadors 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 department’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. The commemoration will continue through the remainder of the year, and include National Apprenticeship Week, Nov. 14-20.
The Wolf Administration today said the $225 million appropriation in Act 2 of 2022 will be used to retain and recruit health care workers and further help nurses pay for education.
Gov. Tom Wolf PHOTO/PROVIDED –
This legislation received bi-partisan support in the General Assembly, and Gov. Tom Wolf signed it into law in January.
Funding will come from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and will be distributed to eligible hospitals and behavioral health providers across the commonwealth.
“Front line workers are the heroes in this pandemic, and they deserve our thanks and support,” said Meg Snead, acting secretary, Department of Human Services.
“This funding will allow health care centers and individuals to start to rebuild from the ongoing financial effects of the pandemic and recruit and retain staff who are vital to keeping our communities healthy and safe,” she said.
In recent months, Pennsylvania’s health care workforce has been under extreme stress as hospitals and health care facilities reach and exceed capacity while seeing patients with higher levels of acuity, according to the administration.
Staffing shortages and high numbers of patients have contributed to community and psychiatric hospitals reaching capacity and needing to divert patients to other equally burdened facilities.
In response, hospitals and health care systems asked the commonwealth for funding specifically for recruitment and retention of key personnel.
Act 2 of 2022 appropriated $225 million to support the following health care areas:
$100 million to be distributed to acute care, critical access, and children’s hospitals licensed by the Department of Health on a per-bed basis. The funding will be used strictly for recruitment and retention payments to direct care staff.
$110 million to be distributed on a per-bed basis to high-Medical Assistance hospitals, designated Critical Access Hospitals, and inpatient and residential behavioral health facilities for recruitment and retention payments to key staff.
$15 million to quadruple the funds available for the nurse loan forgiveness program at Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), a high-demand program which has already received more than 20,000 applications by the March 1 deadline.
“We are working together with hospitals and health systems to support the healthcare heroes who have been battling COVID-19 and enhance recruitment and retention efforts so that care is available for everyone who needs it,” Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said.
“The Wolf Administration remains steadfast in securing crisis support by expanding regional testing opportunities, deploying strike teams and establishing regional support sites to provide additional hospital capacity,” she said.
Across the nation, there’s a growing trend for companies to make known, either internally or externally, the salaries of their employees. –
The trend toward transparency recently turned to the role it can play in pay.
Now more than ever companies are being more open about their culture, paying more attention to how they treat their employees and are making strides at building inclusive workplace environments.
In addition, in companies across the nation, there’s a growing trend to make known, either internally or externally, the salaries of their employees. Some see it as a way to build trust, pay equity and motivation for increased productivity in the workplace. Nevertheless, there are drawbacks to consider.
“It’s a newer concept that I never saw when I first started,” said Jeanie Sharp, regional manager for Robert Half and Accountemps in the Greater Lehigh Valley and Delaware. Sharp, who started at Robert Half 22 years ago, said she is seeing that younger workers tend to feel more comfortable discussing what they make with other workers.
Robert Half recently conducted a survey on this topic and found some companies reporting benefits from the practice.
“Some companies believe that it’s advantageous to have honesty and trust and that’s the best way to bring trust,” Sharp said. “They were able to boost their recruitment efforts and retain their employees. Trust was built, productivity was improved and retention and recruitment efforts were also improved.”
Companies in the survey said having transparent salaries would increase productivity, she added.
However, a transparent salary policy is not without its drawbacks for employees. Some employees may not want their salaries published and sometimes companies publish those figures not only internally, but externally as well, so the public can see them, she said.
Small business risks
Transparent salaries could also give a hiring edge to the competition.
“Some companies worry that competitors could poach their top talent by paying more,” Sharp said. “Some companies are sensitive to those drawbacks. It’s a really really competitive market.”
In addition, having transparent salaries might not allow employees to negotiate for a salary increase, she added.
“Our suggestion is that both employees and employers benchmark salaries,” Sharp said.
People can search these guides, which evaluate salary ranges according to size of company and tenure of employee, she added.
“This concept of publishing for all the employees to know their salaries, I think personally, it leaves you open to issues especially in small to mid-size companies,” said Tina Hamilton, CEO of myHR partner Inc., a human resources firm in Upper Macungie Township. “If in fact you pay for performance and you have a market that is so tight, that’s where the animosity can come up.”
Friction can come if a new hire is paid the same as a long-term employee in the same position.
“Not everyone is clear on the reasons why you need to pay more…certain people come with a boat load of experience,” Hamilton said. “It’s a hard decision for this market now.”
Pros and cons
A healthy company could publish a pay rate and list achievable goals for getting there, but should not focus only on skills but also attitude, she said. As an example, an employee could be a high achiever but demonstrate a poor attitude toward others at work.
In addition, transparent salaries should not affect an employee’s ability to negotiate for higher pay, said Hamilton.
“Somebody who is savvy will try to negotiate anyway or negotiate time off, a bonus or something else important to them,” Hamilton said.
Education is key, too; employees should know why the pay rates are the way they are. Hamilton’s company recently hired someone right out of school. If that person has certain high-value skills, there’s flexibility in what the salary will be.
Transparency can also save time and money. If a company flies a candidate out for a job interview, the person may decline the offer because the salary was too low. The scenario wastes time and money for both.
Posting salary ranges can also eliminate some pay-equity issues and hold managers accountable for making sure everyone who gets hired falls within that range.
“Hopefully that would help to eliminate some of that,” Hamilton said. “I’m open to seeing what’s going to happen.”
In a tight labor market, companies have to try many things they may not have considered 10 years ago, said Susan Larkin, vice president at Allied Personnel Services in Allentown.
“I think a company, if they are going to be that transparent, they are going to be transparent about everything,” she said. “I don’t see it a lot. Starting wages are advertised and mostly well-known.”
As an example, companies from Amazon to Fed-Ex often post their starting wages on online job search boards.
Transparency, in general is a trend that will continue for some industries, but probably not for professional positions.
“Companies are responding to what people want, “ she said. “It definitely could be something we see companies adopting more and more.”
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