U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su used her recent visit to a southern California training academy to point out the value of apprenticeships for workers, especially women of color.

Su visited the Hospitality Training Academy on South Western Avenue in Los Angeles Nov. 17, as part of National Apprenticeship Month and National Women in Apprenticeship Day, a Nov. 18 news release reported.

"President Biden has delivered historic investments in our nation’s workforce system, a vital part of the nation’s infrastructure," Su said in the release. "Registered apprenticeship is one of the innovative and time-tested superhighways in the workforce development infrastructure, particularly for communities who have been excluded from good jobs for far too long."

Su's visit to the Hospitality Training Academy was to see first hand how its Registered Apprenticeship Programs provide workers, especially women of color, the training and skills required "to secure good union jobs," the news release said. Su engaged with students in the academy's Line Cook Apprenticeship Program and listened as apprentices shared their experiences, including in the program's classroom instruction and hands-on work in its fully equipped commercial kitchen.

"The Hospitality Training Academy's Registered Apprenticeship Programs provide training, transportation and childcare costs, and a direct path to a job with union wages, benefits and protections," Su said in the release. "They are a model for the nation. The academy's programs are the kind of partnerships between unions and employers we need to train today's workforce and help ensure equitable access to these jobs."

Su's visit to the academy follows DOL's $3.9 million grant by the California Department of Employment Development that was part of a $13.5 million Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy and Training grant awarded to the state in September, the release reported.