Hickenlooper Cheers Appointment of Noel Ginsburg to DoL Advisory Committee, Chairs Senate Hearing on Apprenticeships

Ginsburg, founder and CEO of Careerwise, shared Colorado’s apprenticeship success story in testimony before the subcommittee

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper today gaveled-in his first hearing as Chair of the Senate HELP Committee’s Subcommittee on Employment and Workforce Safety. The hearing examined how apprenticeship programs successfully train workers who do not choose a traditional college-bound path and keep workers competitive in the 21st century economy.

Noel Ginsburg, founder and CEO of CareerWise in Colorado, testified as a witness at the hearing. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh appointed Ginsburg — at Hickenlooper’s recommendation — to the Department of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship.

“Noel Ginsburg is a pioneer of innovative apprenticeships that prepare students for real, good-paying jobs,” said Hickenlooper. “We need new career paths that go beyond focusing on those who go to college, and Noel will be instrumental in building them.”

”I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a voice on the power of apprenticeship and the potential it holds for our country,” said Noel Ginsburg. “Serving on the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship will help shape apprenticeships for both youth and adults resulting in good jobs and careers!”

For video of today’s Senate hearing, click HERE. For full text of Ginsburg’s prepared testimony before the committee, click HERE.

The Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Labor on ways to better utilize apprenticeship programs in order to provide career pathways beyond the traditional four-year degree.

Only 35 percent of young people in the United States complete a bachelor’s degree or higher. Apprenticeships and on–the-job training programs are powerful alternatives that help shift the conversation away from expensive degrees and towards the skills needed to fill current shortages in our workforce.