New York, NY – August 5, 2024 – CareerWise CEO and Founder Noel Ginsburg is pleased to announce the selection of former Acting Assistant Secretary of United States Department of Labor (USDOL), Brent Parton as President of CareerWise. Parton brings deep commitment, experience and expertise to supporting economic mobility for young people. Operating from New York City, a growing flagship CareerWise site, Brent joins the CareerWise team well positioned to lead the organization into its next phase of growth and innovation.
Parton comes to CareerWise after a distinguished career in public service and strong track record of leadership in workforce development. He shaped and led workforce efforts in both the Obama and Biden Administrations, most recently as the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) at the U.S. Department of Labor, leading change across federal training systems and overseeing more than $3 billion of annual federal investment in workforce and apprenticeship.
In addition to his federal service, Parton was the Deputy Director of the Center on Education & Labor at New America, where his research led to the founding of the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA). Across his experience, including roles at the National Governors Association and the World Bank, Parton worked alongside state and local leaders, industry, and philanthropy to build and lead workforce initiatives and coalitions. With a background in both the public and private sector, he is a key player shaping national policies to align education and workforce systems to improve outcomes for youth, workers and regional economies.
“We are thrilled to welcome Brent to CareerWise,” said Ginsburg. “When I founded CareerWise nine years ago, we knew we had to first prove the success of the youth apprenticeship model. We’ve done that. Now, Brent will be an important leader in not only expanding our nation-leading youth apprenticeship model, but also advancing our movement nationwide to ensure young people across the country have access to many pathways into the workforce. I’ve known Brent for nearly a decade and believe he is the most knowledgeable person in the country to lead this change.”
CareerWise partners with businesses, schools, and communities to provide a pathway for high school students with paid, on-the-job learning experiences that complement their classroom instruction. These modern youth apprenticeships equip students with the skills and credentials needed to succeed in today’s economy while providing employers with a skilled talent pipeline.
“I am honored to join the team during this exciting new chapter for CareerWise and to continue the important work of helping young people find pathways to their quality jobs and life-changing career opportunities,” said Parton. “Connecting youth to apprenticeship opportunities offers students a real path to a good job and career that can transform their lives and communities as a whole. Apprenticeships also create new pipelines for industry to meet critical talent needs, which primes this important work for scale. CareerWise has the vision, the partnerships, and a talented team in place to make this possible for more young Americans and I am eager to be a part of it and take up the mantle.”
Coming in as President under current Founder and CEO Noel Ginsburg, Parton will oversee all aspects of CareerWise, including strategic partnerships and community engagement, with a particular focus on CareerWise’s largest market, New York City, in support of the strategic growth of the youth apprenticeship movement.
Parton’s appointment marks an exciting new chapter for CareerWise as it continues to unlock the unique potential of youth apprenticeship to connect more young people with meaningful paths to good jobs and life-changing career opportunities.
About CareerWise
CareerWise is a nationwide leader in creating pathways from education to employment for young people thanks to its gold standard model for modern youth apprenticeship. CareerWise operates or supports youth apprenticeship programs in more than 20 states across the country, including in the nation’s largest public school system, New York City Public Schools. Thanks to partnerships with the likes of the New York City Jobs CEO Council and world-class companies including Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Accenture, CareerWise provides apprenticeships for high school students that deliver paid, hands-on learning experiences, and help bridge the gap between education and the workforce, creating opportunities for young people to thrive in our economy.
For media inquiries, please contact: Shauna Harman, Director of Marketing and Communications, CareerWise, shauna.harman@careerwiseusa.org, (317) 345-1496.