MATURA Head Start in Creston and the IowaWORKS Center in Creston, together with the U.S. Department of Labor/Office of Apprenticeship, has launched a Child Care Development Specialist Registered Apprenticeship Program. A Registered Apprenticeship is employer-driven training combined with on-the-job learning and related classroom instruction. The program allows the Registered Apprentice to earn a paycheck from day one while learning. The Child Care Development Specialist Registered Apprenticeship is a two-year program.

Julie Lang, Director for MATURA Head Start, said her organization decided to offer a Registered Apprenticeship to increase recruitment and staff retention. This is the first Registered Apprenticeship Program for a child care development specialist in southwest Iowa.  “One of our goals is to be viewed as a premier early childhood workplace,” Lang said. “Offering a Registered Apprenticeship in child care development brands us as someone who takes this career seriously.”

Growing the number of Registered Apprentices in Iowa is one of the goals of an ApprenticeshipUSA State Expansion Grant received by Iowa Workforce Development from the U.S. Department of Labor. MATURA Head Start is a free comprehensive child development program, serving children from three to five years old, who live in Madison, Taylor, Ringgold, Union and Adams counties. Job seekers interested in learning more about the Child Care Development Specialist Registered Apprenticeship Program are encouraged to contact the IowaWORKS Center in Creston or complete the online form at earnandlearniowa.gov.

Registered Apprenticeship Programs help recruit, train a skilled workforce and retain talent. There are currently more than 1,000 apprenticeable occupations in industries that include energy, information technology, healthcare, financial services, transportation, advanced manufacturing, food and beverage preparation, and the building trades. Businesses interested in learning more about Registered Apprenticeship opportunities can visit the earnandlearniowa.gov website and complete a form to receive more information.