The TechEd Podcast

Apprenticeship is no longer synonymous with the construction trades. Healthcare organizations are training medical assistants and registered nurses through apprenticeship. Schools are using the model to prepare teachers. Employers are applying it to occupations from arboriculture to human resources. At the same time, more high school students are using Youth Apprenticeship to begin building skills and gaining paid work experience before they graduate.
So what actually makes something an apprenticeship, and why are so many industries taking a fresh look at a model that has existed for more than a century?
David Polk, Director of Apprenticeship at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, takes us inside the modern apprenticeship system. A third-generation apprentice who began his own career as a plumber, David now leads one of the country’s most established state apprenticeship systems and serves as president of the National Association of State and Territorial Apprenticeship Directors.
In this episode, we break down Registered Apprenticeship and Youth Apprenticeship, how the earn-and-learn model combines paid employment with structured education and mentorship, and what it takes for employers to participate. David also explains how apprenticeship is expanding into occupations that have never traditionally used the model, how states and the federal government shape apprenticeship policy and funding, and why earlier exposure to hands-on careers matters for the workforce pipeline.
In this episode:
What separates Registered Apprenticeship, Youth Apprenticeship and other forms of work-based learning
How earn-and-learn flips the traditional education-to-employment model
Why apprenticeship is expanding into healthcare, education, HR and other occupations beyond the trades
How employers can use Youth Apprenticeship to build an earlier connection with future talent
How federal policy, state systems and funding influence apprenticeship growth
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Apprenticeship integrates education and employment instead of treating them as separate stages.
2. Apprenticeship is a workforce development model, not a category of trades careers.
3. Building the workforce pipeline starts earlier than the point of hire.
Resources in this Episode:
Wisconsin Apprenticeships - Find more about registered, youth and certified pre-apprenticeship
U.S. Department of Labor - Apprenticeships
WisTRAIN grants
Wisconsin Fast Forward grants
HEART Grant for rural healthcare
National Association of State and Territorial Apprenticeship Directors (NASTAD)
Email the WI DWD Apprenticeship team
More notes & resources on the episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/polk
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For decades, the GED has been viewed as a second chance to finish high school. But with employers struggling to find talent and millions of Americans looking for a pathway to better work, that definition is increasingly outdated.
More than 21 million people have earned a GED since the program began, with another 150,000+ graduates each year. Many are working adults pursuing the credential for a very practical reason: they want access to a better job, career training or continued education.
At the same time, employers in healthcare, manufacturing, energy and the skilled trades are struggling to find talent. GED Testing Service President CT Turner argues those aren’t separate challenges. GED graduates represent an enormous, largely overlooked talent pipeline, and earning the credential should be the beginning of the pathway, not the end.
In this episode, we talk about today's GED earners, how AI enables personalized learning for individuals from every walk of life, plus new ways employers can get access to this talent pipeline.
In this episode:
Meet the GED you didn't know (it's not just a symbolic credential!)
One of the country’s largest potential talent pipelines employers are probably overlooking
The pitfall of employers trying to recruit their way out of persistent workforce shortages
Personalized learning, outcomes, and the next generation of education technology
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. America doesn’t just have a talent shortage. It has a talent access problem.
Employers continue competing for the same workforce while a largely overlooked pipeline of GED learners and graduates is ready to move into better careers. CT argues that industries like healthcare need to create new entry points and internal pathways, connecting GED graduates to roles such as phlebotomy or medical assisting that can become the first rung in a much longer career ladder.
2. The economic value of a GED comes from the career pathways it opens.
Earning the credential expands opportunity, but CT describes it as a “springboard” rather than the destination. GED Career Connect is putting that philosophy into practice by connecting graduates directly to career training, beginning with eight allied health certification pathways and plans to expand into additional industries.
3. AI in education should be judged by learner outcomes, not technological novelty.
GED learners using its AI tutor are spending twice as much time studying, and learners who previously failed a math test doubled their chances of passing on their next attempt after using the app and tutor. For CT, that’s the real promise of AI: using personalization to help more learners persist and succeed, rather than adding another layer of technology that doesn’t change the outcome.
Resources in this Episode:
Learn more about the GED
National GED Day - September 16th
GED Career Connect
Find more resources on the episode page!
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For decades, the standard HR playbook has been attract, retain, develop. Jason Desentz says we should rethink that order.
As Chief Human Resources Officer of Toshiba America, Desentz starts with the people already inside the business. In technical fields where experienced employees can take a year or more to train, retention is not simply an HR metric. It affects how quickly a company can grow, respond to new demand and capitalize on emerging markets. That equation is becoming even more important as AI infrastructure drives investment in energy and advanced technology while manufacturers compete for a limited pool of skilled technical talent. 
Desentz brings an unusually business-first perspective to HR. He evaluates people decisions against ROI, challenges his team to experiment with AI, and argues that HR leaders need to understand the technology, operations and economics of the companies they serve. At the same time, his approach is deeply human: listen to employees, get creative about the employee experience, invest in development and give people opportunities to try something new. From rebuilding pathways into manufacturing to preparing 6,000 Toshiba employees across the Americas for AI, this conversation explores what changes when people strategy becomes business strategy. 
In this episode:
Why the return of U.S. manufacturing is colliding with a technical talent pipeline weakened by decades of offshoring
How AI-driven data centers are creating new workforce demand across energy, infrastructure and field service
Why Desentz puts retention before attraction when thinking about talent strategy
How Toshiba evaluates the ROI of retaining highly specialized employees who can take more than a year to train
Why CHROs need to understand the CEO, operations, technology and business economics, not just HR
How high-school co-ops, technical education and experiential learning can rebuild pathways into manufacturing careers
3 Big Takeaways
1. Your workforce strategy is part of your growth strategy.
Toshiba sees significant opportunity as AI and data-center investment drives demand for energy generation, storage and infrastructure. But capturing that opportunity requires having specialized technical talent available when demand arrives. For a CHRO, workforce capacity becomes a strategic constraint that has to be planned alongside growth.
2. Calculate the business value of retaining technical expertise.
Some Toshiba field-service employees require more than a year of training to service complex equipment. Desentz estimates losing one could cost roughly $100,000, before accounting for the time required to rebuild that expertise. That changes the economics of retention: spending creatively to improve an employee’s experience can be far less expensive than replacing specialized capability.
3. Build AI capability by giving employees real problems to solve.
Toshiba launched a six-course AI-readiness curriculum through Toshiba University, but Desentz didn’t stop at instruction. His HR organization formed teams to build AI agents around actual business needs, including payroll, attendance and recruiting. Employees learned the technology by applying it, while Toshiba surfaced tools it could potentially deploy in the business.
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In 2025, Americans gave $617 billion to charitable causes. If your school has a bold vision for students, the money may be out there. The bigger question is whether you have an idea people want to invest in.
Too many organizations approach philanthropy by leading with what they need, chasing the biggest perceived “deep pockets,” or treating the conversation like a transaction. That can make fundraising feel uncomfortable for the person asking and uninspiring for the person being asked.
Michael Frohna has spent three decades helping organizations raise millions of dollars, and his approach challenges many of those assumptions. He shares what actually drives people to give, what separates a routine request from a transformational opportunity, and how education leaders can build the kind of vision and relationships that attract serious philanthropic support.
In this episode: 
Why one donor was upset Michael didn’t ask for enough
What $617 billion in annual giving means for education
Why philanthropists fund a vision, not an equipment list
What makes some education initiatives inspire major investment while others fall flat
How to move philanthropy from a transaction to a long-term partnership
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. You raise a million dollars by having a million-dollar idea. Philanthropists aren’t looking to fund a need. They’re looking for a vision that shows what their investment can make possible. Before asking for a transformational gift, make sure the idea itself is transformational and that your organization is prepared to deliver on it. 
2. The great paradox of fundraising: People dread asking for money, but people love to give. Michael has had million-dollar donors apologize that they couldn’t do more, and the only donor he ever upset was upset because Michael didn’t ask for enough. Stop viewing the ask as taking something from someone and recognize that you may be giving them an opportunity to make an impact they deeply value. 
3. The goal isn’t to make someone your donor. It’s to become one of their organizations. Major philanthropy isn’t transactional. Listen for what matters to the giver, bring them close enough to experience the impact for themselves, and continue engaging them long after the gift so they see your mission as part of their own.
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Every manufacturer says they need people. So why, after decades of talking about the skills gap, do so few workforce development models consistently deliver the talent employers actually need?
Tony Davis believes the answer is surprisingly simple: employers have to stop sitting on the sidelines. As Assistant Vice President of Program Scaling and National Director for FAME USA, Tony is helping manufacturers across the country build talent pipelines by putting industry in the driver’s seat alongside education. The result is a model that blends paid work experience, technical education and professional behaviors into one employer-led system.
In this episode, Matt and Tony explore how the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) grew from Toyota’s workforce strategy in Kentucky into a national initiative of the Manufacturing Institute, why professional behaviors deserve the same emphasis as technical skills, what visitors experience inside the flagship Kentucky FAME facility, and how employer collaboration is helping scale one of the country’s most successful advanced manufacturing workforce models.
In this episode:
Why Toyota was the perfect place to launch an efficient, lean, and optimized workforce development model
The "soft skills vs. hard skills" debate
The unbelievable impact of treating a classroom or lab like a workplace
Inside the flagship FAME chapter in Kentucky
Why every manufacturer - not just large enterprises - should get involved in these programs
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Manufacturers should lead workforce development, not simply participate in it. The most effective workforce programs begin with employers defining the skills they actually need, rather than reacting to a curriculum after it’s already been built. FAME flips the traditional model by making manufacturers true partners in recruiting, curriculum and continuous improvement.
2. Professional behaviors are developed through culture, not coursework. Communication, accountability, leadership and critical thinking aren’t mastered in a single class. They’re reinforced every day through immersion, expectations and real workplace experiences alongside technical training.
3. Building a workforce model is one challenge. Scaling it is another. Expanding from a successful local program to a national network requires more than enthusiasm. Systems, quality assurance and continuous improvement ensure students in every chapter receive the same high standard of preparation.
Resources in this Episode:
FAME USA
The Manufacturing Institute
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
Inside Jefferson County Community & Technical College FAME AMT Program
Connect with our guest online:
FAME USA on LinkedIn |  Connect with Tony on LinkedIn
Find more notes & resources on the episode page!

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