David Polk on Solving the Workforce Shortage By Expanding Apprenticeship

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Please join me for a discussion with David Polk, Director of the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards, about how he and the Bureau are expanding the apprenticeship model to help solve the workforce shortage in sectors like nursing and teaching. We also discuss why apprenticeship is the best-kept secret to a successful career.
David is a third-generation plumber by trade who completed a registered apprenticeship with Plumbers Local 75. He also holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree focused in Business Administration and Management from Cardinal Stritch University. After spending more than a decade as a plumber with the City of Milwaukee, David became Associate Dean at Milwaukee Area Technical College, the largest technical college in Wisconsin. He currently leads the Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards which creates, implements and enforces policy regarding all things apprenticeship for the State of Wisconsin and is the oldest registered apprenticeship model in America. He has led the Bureau to having a record number of registered and youth apprenticeships. David was recognized as one of 52 most influential black leaders in the state of Wisconsin by the publication Madison365 in 2022. He is also a board member of Secured Futures and an advisory board member of the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).
Learn more about the Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards at: 
https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/apprenticeship/
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About the Host: 
Lauri Rollings is the CEO of Lauri Rollings and Associates, LLC. She is a lawyer by trade who has more than 20 years of experience providing strategic advice and solutions as an attorney, an executive director of construction trade associations, and as a consultant. Her services help businesses run more efficiently and promote recruitment and retention of a diverse, productive workforce. Rollings previously served as Executive Director of the Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association of Oregon and Executive Director of the Plumbing Mechanical & Sheet Metal Contractors’ Alliance of Milwaukee. Before joining the construction industry, she practiced law for more than a decade representing clients in a broad range of industries. Before that, she was a newspaper reporter. Rollings graduated with honors from both Stanford Law School and the University of Wisconsin.