Meet Your Registered Apprenticeship Champions at MASCI

Finding—and keeping—skilled talent is one of the greatest challenges facing Michigan employers today. Fortunately, businesses don’t have to navigate this landscape alone. The Michigan Apprenticeship Steering Committee, Inc. (MASCI) serves as the state’s premier advocacy group and resource hub, dedicated to bridging the gap between employer needs and a highly proficient workforce through Registered Apprenticeship.

Formed in 1977, MASCI has long served in an advisory capacity to Michigan’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. For nearly five decades, the organization has provided consistent, forward-looking leadership to ensure Michigan’s Registered Apprenticeship system remains among the strongest in the nation.

MASCI is a powerful collaboration of leaders representing a broad cross-section of Michigan’s economy, including:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Construction Trades
• Education and Training Institutions
• State and Federal Government Agencies

Its membership includes executives from major labor organizations, leaders in technical and postsecondary education, representatives from state workforce and career and technical education departments, and partners from the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship. Public members-at-large—many with decades of experience in skilled trades training—bring additional expertise and perspective.

This diverse and highly engaged membership ensures that MASCI’s advocacy, resources and guidance are firmly grounded in real-world employer needs. By uniting labor, education, industry and government, MASCI provides a unified, credible voice for Registered Apprenticeship programs across Michigan.

While the “Earn While You Learn” model is widely recognized as a benefit for students, MASCI emphasizes its equally critical value to employers: the development of the most skilled, market-ready and safety-conscious workforce available.

Registered Apprenticeships allow employers to train workers to precise occupational standards while building a reliable talent pipeline. The result is higher productivity, stronger retention, reduced onboarding costs and a workforce aligned with long-term business needs—all while providing registered apprentices with debt-free career pathways that support families and communities.

MASCI functions as a strategic partner for employers seeking to modernize and stabilize their talent pipelines. Through its member organizations and statewide partnerships, MASCI:

• Advises on the development, expansion and modernization of Registered Apprenticeship programs
• Supports alignment between classroom instruction and mentored, on-job-learning
• Connects employers with education, workforce and Michigan Works! partners to streamline recruitment and program administration
• Promotes consistent Registered Apprenticeship standards tied to regional, in-demand occupations
• Develops and distributes outreach materials to inform students, educators and employers about Registered Apprenticeship opportunities

MASCI members are not observers of the Registered Apprenticeship system; they are the organizations that make it work. Labor organizations within MASCI deliver the highly technical, hands-on training required in today’s skilled trades and advanced manufacturing careers, supported by state-of-the-art facilities across Michigan.

Employers and industry associations provide real-world training environments, career pathways and long-term employment opportunities that make Registered Apprenticeship sustainable.

Collectively, MASCI members dedicate exceptional time, expertise and resources to career outreach, curriculum development and student engagement—working directly with schools, districts and communities to expand awareness of Registered Apprenticeship as a premier workforce solution.

Through this proven leadership, deep institutional knowledge and hands-on commitment, MASCI continues to strengthen Michigan’s Registered Apprenticeship ecosystem and stands as a clear champion of Registered Apprenticeships for employers, workers and the State of Michigan alike.

Meet the MASCI Executive Board