November 18, 2025
College management welcomed the initiative as an extension of their missions
Written by Sean Mitchell
Going through a wave of retirements and chronic vacancies throughout metropolis companies, Washington, D.C., launched a first-of-its-kind apprenticeship pipeline in 2024 that positioned graduating seniors from the District’s two HBCUs into year-long, paid positions throughout municipal departments—to transform a lot of these apprentices into full-time public servants.
The initiative, introduced by Mayor Muriel Bowser, paired Howard College and the College of the District of Columbia (UDC) with the Division of Employment Providers (DOES) and collaborating metropolis companies to recruit 25 apprentices. On the program’s finish in its first yr in June, 24 out of the 25 apprentices had accomplished it.
“We would like the most effective and the brightest, the people who find themselves keen about our neighborhood, to work at D.C. Authorities,” Mayor Bowser stated on the announcement.
“This program will preserve expertise in D.C. and convey younger leaders into D.C. Authorities,” she added.
This system, known as the HBCU Public Service Program, is designed round a cohort mannequin. Apprentices change into full-time staff at host companies, supported by structured skilled improvement, mentorship, and university-based coursework. DOES’s official Request for Functions (RFA) outlines the framework: paid placements, advantages, networking alternatives, and post-program development prospects.
The primary cohort included 25 graduating seniors from Howard College and UDC who had been positioned in key District companies, together with the Division of Employment Providers (DOES), the Division of Behavioral Well being, DC Water, and the Workplace of the Lawyer Basic.
The technique responds to a long-standing problem. In line with metropolis officers and workforce analysts, the District faces what they name a “silver tsunami” of retirements paired with inequities in employment pipelines.
“Our workforce … has gotten older, and we haven’t essentially constructed that pipeline,” stated Kenneth Walker, Deputy Director of Federal Workforce Packages at DOES. He added that unpaid internship fashions had been inadequate; paid apprenticeships provided the dedication and stability wanted to generate influence.
College management welcomed the initiative as an extension of their missions. UDC President Maurice D. Edington described it as “an ideal match” for the college’s workforce improvement pathways.
Former Howard College President Ben Vinson III known as this system “visionary,” saying it aligned with Howard’s emphasis on management, fact, and repair, and acknowledged that many college students come to campus already oriented towards public service.
With promising early benchmarks, DOES reported a 96% completion price of the primary cohort and early inner promotions for members. Questions stay about scale and long-term retention. The RFA stipulates that apprentices should keep D.C. residency and that transformed positions emerge from present or newly budgeted roles. Many observers say success also needs to be measured by what number of apprentices transition into lasting careers, and the standard of assist supplied throughout and after their time period.
In its second yr, this system is increasing its standards for each candidates and studying establishments by opening it to all college students and establishments, not simply HBCUs.
“Primarily based on the success of Cohort One, we had been in a position to increase our footprint to the place this chance is accessible to any faculty pupil that’s seeking to work throughout the district,” Walker stated. “It was crucial for our administrators to verify these alternatives existed throughout all schools and universities. So, that was the imaginative and prescient — identical program, identical mannequin … we simply broadened our applicant pool.”
For college students and the D.C. authorities alike, this system is a strategic funding. The cohort helps companies fill hard-to-staff roles—from know-how and social companies to operations—whereas additionally fostering extra equitable employment pathways. If the pilot’s outcomes maintain, the mannequin may very well be scaled or replicated in different jurisdictions grappling with related talent-pipeline and fairness challenges.
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