A Faster Pathway to Jobs: ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) Recognizes Dallas College’s Health Care Culinary Services Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program

Supporting faster pathways to quality work and serving the nation’s increased need for a skilled workforce, the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), in its role as an official Standards Recognition Entity (SRE), has recognized Dallas College’s Health Care Culinary Services (HCCS) Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP)—the first ANAB recognition of this kind.

IRAPs, developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), are high quality and customizable apprenticeship programs that support various sectors. The programs assist job creators in training their workforces, and create faster routes to employment for job seekers in a competitive marketplace. Dallas College developed its IRAP in partnership with ANSI-affiliate Workcred, HCA Healthcare (Hospital Corporation of America), the American Culinary Federation, Bufflehead Strategies, LLC, and the American Society for Health Care Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA).

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and an uptick in hospital patients, there is a growing need for culinary professionals in health care. Dallas College’s HCCS IRAP will train apprentices in culinary services at facilities such as hospitals and long-term care organizations that offer nutritional services to patients, staff, and guests. The HCCS IRAP is a rigorously developed occupational training program in culinary services that combines on-the-job work experience with technical/classroom study and is designed to develop useful job skills for individuals entering the culinary workforce and incumbent workers who need upskilling.

Ultimately, the IRAP supports the labor force in career transition, and offers workplace-relevant training and progressively advancing skills that result in an industry-recognized credential—in a shorter amount of time than many traditional credentials. IRAP participants also receive compensation for their work. The program fosters employee engagement and reduced turnover, quicker and more effective training for staff, increased productivity, curated recruitment of talent, in addition to better organizational and patient outcomes.

Successful apprentices who train under the HCC IRAP will earn at least one of three stackable credentials: Certified Fundamentals Cook®, Certified Culinarian®, or Certified Sous Chef®.

ANSI-affiliate Workcred, which aims to strengthen workforce quality by improving the credentialing system, joined with Dallas College and other partners to support the IRAP by developing training and structured on-the-job learning materials.

ANAB’s SRE Role in IRAP Recognition

IRAPs were officially entered into the Code of Federal Regulations in May 2020 as an industry-driven alternative to offer high-quality apprenticeships recognized by DOL-established Standards Recognition Entities (SREs). In 2020, the DOL Office of Apprenticeship approved ANAB as an official SRE. ANAB’s role as a recognized SRE includes developing recognition requirements for IRAPs based on competency criteria, identifying and recognizing high-quality IRAPs, providing ongoing oversight of IRAP sponsors, and reporting IRAP performance data to the DOL Office of Apprenticeship and the public. Currently, various entities trade and industry groups, corporations, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, unions, and joint labor-management organizations develop and deliver IRAPs.

“ANAB is thrilled to recognize Dallas College’s IRAP, which helps bridge the gap between employers and talent with quality workforce programs,” said Dr. Vijay Krishna, ANAB vice president of credentialing. “This recognition supports better outcomes for workers and organizations, including effective training for health care at a time when the nation needs faster solutions to filling employment gaps.”

“Dallas College is thrilled to mark this milestone as an achievement toward our goal of expanding the apprenticeship model to a national audience while advancing our strategic priority to serve our community and the nation as a provider of talent supply chain through apprenticeships and achievement of industry-recognized credentials across many sectors, including health care,” said Dr. Pyeper Wilkins, vice chancellor for workforce and advancement at Dallas College.

About ANAB

The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is the largest multi-disciplinary ISO/IEC 17011 accreditation body in North America, with comprehensive signatory status across the multilateral recognition arrangements of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Accreditation Forum (IAF). The ANAB accreditation portfolio includes management systems certification bodies, calibration and testing labs, product certification bodies, personnel credentialing organizations, forensic test and calibration service providers, inspection bodies, police crime units, greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies, reference material producers, and proficiency test providers.

ANAB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment systems and strengthening their impact, both domestically and internationally, including by administering procedures and criteria for accreditation of conformity assessment programs and encouraging organizations to prepare and submit such programs for accreditation.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.

The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.

About Dallas College

Dallas College, formerly the Dallas County Community College District, was founded in 1965, and consists of seven campuses: Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland. Dallas College offers online learning and serves more than 83,000 credit and 25,000 continuing education students during the fall and spring semesters. Dallas College also offers dual credit for students in partner high schools and early college high schools throughout Dallas County. Dr. Joe May, the college’s 7th chancellor, has established the Dallas College higher education network in partnership with area school districts, colleges and universities, businesses, community organizations and others to support student success and college completion by removing barriers and providing services that help them earn a college credential and start their professional careers.