Arkansas Center for Data Sciences rebrands as Apprenticely

The Arkansas Center for Data Sciences (ACDS) is rebranding under a new name, Apprenticely.

The nonprofit has operated for five years with the mission of growing the IT workforce throughout Arkansas.

“ACDS, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, was launched in 2019 through the recommendation of Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Blue Ribbon Commission, formed to devise a plan for Arkansas to capitalize on the burgeoning data analytics and computing market – primarily through the use of the model of registered apprenticeship – an employer-driven model that combines on-the-job training with related classroom instruction, resulting in an employee becoming productive quickly,” said Executive Director Bill Yoder.

“Over the past five years, ACDS has worked with over 150 Arkansas employers to create over 1,000 registered apprenticeships employing diverse Arkansans from all educational and experiential backgrounds. ACDS’s economic impact through new wages is well over $70 million annually to date,” he said.

In light of this success in the information technology field, state leadership encouraged ACDS to apply its proven end-to-end process to additional industry sectors including advanced manufacturing, energy, transportation, healthcare, and others. In 2023, ACDS began its expansion into these industry sectors.

In 2024, Apprenticely added 10 new additional states through its employer partnership with several nationally recognized companies, to build apprenticeships. The new name reflects the company’s expanding role.

“For career-seekers, apprenticeships provide a non-traditional path to a successful career,” said Apprenticeship Director Lonnie Emard. “For employers, apprenticeships provide a proven supplementary staffing strategy. For communities, apprenticeships provide a way to grow their workforce. Everyone wins.”

“The name Apprenticely was created to communicate our workforce model and how we help employers and career seekers advance,” added Emard. “We ask the question, ‘How do you do workforce? Schools do it educationally. Vendors do it technically. Companies do it professionally. Everyone tries to do it effectively. We do it Apprenticely.’ We not only have captured a space using a very effective, collaborative model, but now we have created a word that describes how to DO workforce.”

Apprenticely works with key partners including: Arkansas Workforce Connections, a division of the Arkansas Department of Commerce, Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Arkansas Advanced Energy Association, Forge Institute, Xpanxion Technology, Pluralsight, Arkansas Academy of Computing, University of Arkansas Global Campus, Newport Economic Development Commission, ASU Newport, SEARK Community College, Arkansas Local Workforce Boards, and Shorter College.