Stephanie

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Colin Powell

First of all I want to send out a heart felt CONGRATULATIONS to students through the United States who graduated in 2017 from their present course of study. This includes those who graduated kindergarten, middle school, high school, trade/technical school, 2-year and 4-year colleges/universities, and professional school. Your accomplishments I don’t take lightly because I know it took hard work, dedication, commitment and perseverance on your part to successfully complete your goal.

For those high school and post-secondary graduates, I believe that a bright future lies ahead for each and everyone of you with a range of opportunities waiting for you to take advantage of. You now have the responsibility to step into those opportunities and show the world the talent and skills you have inside of you. Good Luck in your endeavors and Godspeed!

With that said, I do want to bring attention to a report that I recently heard on one of our national news stations regarding the fact that there are approximately 6 million job openings in the United States that can’t be filled due to lack of skilled workers. In a sense this should be encouraging news to students who have just graduated and are ready to enter the labor force. The catch-22 here is that a number of those open position require highly skilled workers and a number of our graduating students are not equipped with the skills required for those job openings.

In an effort to help companies gain the skilled workers they need, our government began putting a greater emphasis on expanding apprenticeship program when the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act was signed into law in July 2014. As a result $90 million was allocated in the 2016 Fiscal Year Spending Bill to fund that effort. Between the period of 2014 to 2016, 75,000 new apprenticeships were added to the job market. Today as well, there is indication that there will be continued expansion of the apprenticeship programs as a means of training those that are trying to enter the job market as well as those who may already be employed but want to enhance their job skills to make them more marketable for the current demand.

For young people today, this signals an amazing opportunity for them to acquire the skills they need to have a meaningful and well paying career. What I would suggest is that if they have not already done so then today’s young people should began to consider how an apprenticeship program can be of benefit to them in preparing for the jobs of tomorrow. That is why this issue of HelpingYoungPeopleToSucceed is for the purpose of shedding light on apprenticeship programs and providing information to our youth so they can began to look into deeper as this method of training and education for future employment.

APPRENTICESHIP

Through an apprenticeship program an individual would be hired as an apprentice by a company and will receive on-the-job training from a more experienced worker. The on-the-job training would also be combined with classroom instructions, that is usually given at a technical school or community college and paid for or subsidized by the actual employer. While receiving training the apprentice will also receive be paid as an employee, therefore, giving them an opportunity to earn a living while learning a skill or trade. This is not only a good situation for the worker (who can acquire job skills and an education without the debt) but also the company because in the end they can acquire a highly skilled employee that they had a hand in training.

Apprenticeships have been around for a number of years and have supplied skilled workers for occupations such as plumbers, boilermakers. brick and stone masons, painters, electrician, construction, manufacturing, etc. While those occupations still rely heavily on apprenticeship programs to supply them with skilled workers — you will now find other industries, such as technology and healthcare, that are now developing apprenticeship programs to fill the void for skilled workers. Today, individuals are able to find apprenticeship programs to train them for professions such as computer network specialist, transportation inspector, radiation therapist, respiratory therapist, computer service technician, nuclear reactor operator, etc.

An apprenticeship program can be either registered or non-registered. A registered apprenticeship program means that it is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor and usually meet the following guidelines:

The apprentice earn wages from the employer while they are being trained. The average starting salary is approximately $15 an hour (employer are allowed, however, to set their own wage level).
The program must meet certain national standards set by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The apprenticeship usually include on-the-job training and classroom instruction provided by apprenticeship training centers, technical schools or community colleges.
Upon completion of the apprenticeship , the apprentice would receive national recognized credentials from the Department of Labor that is recognized nation wide.

Other Important Facts On Apprenticeships:

Most apprenticeships take approximately 2 to 4 years to complete. During that time period, as your skill level increases your salary level, as an apprentice, also has the potential to receive incremental increases as well. Upon completion of an apprenticeship program, a fully proficient worker can realize a starting salary of $50,000 or more.

Keep in mind that through an apprenticeship, a person can receive an education and post-secondary college credit without the burden of acquiring the debt that goes along with your paying for your education out of your pocket. (Remember with an apprenticeship, your education will most likely be paid for by the employer) . In addition, as you are learning your skill you are also earning a livelihood as well.

During the duration of an individual’s participation in an apprenticeship programs, they will be required to complete approximately 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and 144 hours of related classroom training .

State Apprenticeship Contact Agencies

Following are state apprenticeship agencies that an individual can contact to find out more information on what apprenticeship programs are offered within their state:

Alabama:

Alabama Department of Commerce (1-800-248-0033) www.apprenticeshipalabama.org

(1-850-245-0454)

Georgia

www.georgia.org/worksmart (1-404-962-4191)

Hawaii

labor.hawaii.gov/wdd/home/job-seekers/apprenticeship (1-808-586-8877)

Idaho

labor.idaho.gov (1-208-364-7785 ext. 3303)

Illinois

http://www.ides.illinois.gov/Pages/Apprenticeship.aspx

Iowa

https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/ (1-800-562-4692)

Kansas

http://www.kansasapprenticeship.org/Pages/default.aspx (1-785-296-4161)

Kentucky

http://www.labor.ky.gov/Pages/Labor-Home.aspx (1-502-564-3534)

Louisiana

http://www.laworks.net/ (1-225-342-7820)

Maine

http://www.maine.gov/labor/jobs_training/apprenticeship.html (1-207-623-7900)

Maryland

http://www.dllr.state.md.us/employment/appr/ (1-410-767-2246)

Massachusetts

http://www.mass.gov/lwd/labor-standards/das/workers/ (1-617-626-5409)

Michigan

http://www.michigan.gov/wda/ (1-517-377-1747)

Minnesota

http://www.dli.mn.gov/appr/apprfaq.asp (1-800-342-5354)

Montana

http://apprenticeship.mt.gov/occupations (1-406-444-4100)

Nebraska

https://www.dol.nebraska.gov/EmploymentAndTraining/Training/Apprenticeship

(1-402-471-9928 or 1-402-221-3281)

Nevada

http://labor.nv.gov/ (1-702-486-2650 or 1-775-684-1890)

New Hampshire

https://www.education.nh.gov/career/career/apprenticeship.htm (1-603-225-1446)

New Jersey

http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/ (1-609-984-3519)

New Mexico

(1-505-841-8565)

New York

https://labor.ny.gov/apprenticeship/appindex.shtm (1-518-457-6820)

North Carolina

http://nccommerce.com/workforce/job-seekers/apprenticeships (1-919-814-0303)

North Dakota

https://www.workforce.nd.gov/workforce/apprenticeship/ (1-701-328-5300)

Ohio

http://jfs.ohio.gov/apprenticeship/index.stm (419-247-0484, 303-252-6642, & 937-404-3465 ext. 8350)

Oklahoma

https://www.ok.gov/oesc_web/Services/Workforce_Services/Job_Opportunities/Apprenticeship_Opportunities.html (1-855-962-4651)

Oregon

http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI/ATD/pages/index.aspx (1-917-673-0760)

Pennsylvania

http://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management-Relations/llc/apprenticeship/Pages/default.aspx (1-717-705-7256)

Rhode Island

1-401-462-8580 or 1-401-919-5919 ext. 208

South Carolina

http://www.apprenticeshipcarolina.com/become-an-apprentice.html (1-803-896-5376 or 1-803-917-6106)

South Dakota

http://dlr.sd.gov/workforce_services/individuals/training_opportunities/apprenticeship.aspx (1-605-224-7983)

Tennessee

http://tennessee.gov/workforce (1-844-224-5818)

Texas

http://twc.state.tx.us/ (1-800-832-2829)

Vermont

http://labor.vermont.gov/workforce-development/apprenticeship/ (1-802-828-4000)

Virginia

(1-804-371-2327)

Washington

http://lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Apprenticeship/Programs/ (1-360-416-3081)

West Virginia

http://workforcewv.org/job-seekers/training/apprenticeships.html (1-800-252-5627)

Wisconsin

http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/apprenticeship/individuals.htm (1-608-266-3332)

Wyoming

http://buildourwyoming.org/apprenticeship/ (1-307-772-2448)

Washington DC

https://does.dc.gov/service/apprenticeships (1-202-698-5099)

Please

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