First Lady Pool Reports of September 1, 2022

Good afternoon from the White House. I'll be your print pooler for today's FLOTUS event. Pool is gathering by the briefing room ahead of the First Lady's 2pm event in the EOB.

Passing along the following:

Background from the Office of the First Lady:

Today, First Lady Jill Biden, Secretary Marty Walsh, and Secretary Gina Raimondo will speak at an event launching the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative, a national network of more than 200 employers and industry organizations, labor organizations, educators, workforce intermediaries, and community-based organizations who are committed to strengthening and diversifying Registered Apprenticeship.

Fact Sheet: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Launches the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative to Create Equitable, Debt-Free Pathways to High-Paying Jobs

The Apprenticeship Ambassadors have existing Registered Apprenticeship programs in over 40 in-demand industries and have committed to expand and diversify these programs over the next year by collectively accomplishing the following:

• develop 460 new Registered Apprenticeship programs across their 40 industries
• hire over 10,000 new apprentices
• hold 5,000 outreach, promotional, and training events to help other business, labor, and education leaders launch similar programs.

Following remarks from the First Lady, Secretary Walsh, and Secretary Raimondo, there will be a panel discussion with members of the initiative. The panel will be led by Brent Parton, Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration at the Department of Labor, and will include Carla Grant Pickens of IBM, Darren Hawkins of Yellow Corporation, Brent Booker of NABTU, Portia Roberson of Focus: HOPE, Julian Alvarez of the Texas Workforce Commission, and Dr. Mary Thornley of Trident Technical College.

Additional background on the First Lady's engagement and support of the role community colleges play in workforce development:

• In Boston, Massachusetts, the First Lady and Secretary Walsh met with union workers and paid interns from Bunker Hill Community College at Eversource Station 99, an electrical substation that services the Seaport District of Boston, to highlight a partnership between the community college, two unions, and the local public utility company and underscore the critical importance of these kinds of training opportunities to implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• In Chandler, Arizona, the First Lady met with Maricopa County Community College District students and staff at Intel's Ocotillo campus to showcase how the American Rescue Plan helps invest in job training, and how companies can partner with local community colleges to expand access to good-paying jobs.
• In Reno, Nevada, the First Lady met with students at Truckee Meadows Community College to see their hands-on learning programs in nursing, emergency medical services, and radiologic technology, and to highlight how the American Rescue Plan has helped community colleges continue their efforts to build a strong, local, and diverse workforce.

FLOTUS pool report #2

FLOTUS entered the Indian Treaty Room at 1.58pm

Secretary Walsh and Secretary Raimondo opened with remarks on apprenticeships. "I saw how powerful earn while you learn is," Secretary Raimondo said.

Secretary Raimondo handed over to FLOTUS saying she was "inspired" by her ability to juggle her First Lady role alongside her teaching job. And "in high-heeled purple shoes", she joked.

FLOTUS, wearing a white and light blue dress, said she spent her covid recovery time reading articles and thinking about how to inspire her students.

Her remarks focused on how "apprenticeships can change lives". Her full remarks will be shared by the East Wing.

FLOTUS and Secretary Raimondo left the Indian Treaty Room around 2.10pm.

Secretary Walsh delivered further remarks. Pool was ushered out at 2.20pm.