Why are apprenticeship training opportunities important to us?
Apprenticeships are training programs where you earn a wage while you learn a trade in a specific field of study, usually at no cost or minimal cost to the student.
Apprenticeship combines classroom training with hands-on and on the job training under the supervision of skilled journey level workers in the students chosen field of study. Pursuing a college education can take anywhere from one to five years to complete journey level proficiency or licenses. An apprenticeship may also take one to five years, but unlike college, an apprenticeship allows you to earn a wage while learning your career.
Currently in Washington state, there are about 200 state and federally registered apprenticeships, from cosmetology to construction.
For students and local people, this is an opportunity to promote training and jobs in our area by encouraging the use of apprentices for building projects in our schools, cities, counties and ports. This can be accomplished by working with the career and technical education programs at our local high schools, Centralia College, local governments and contractors to make sure that apprenticeship utilization is added and utilized in our construction contracts.
The idea is that we would work with the local schools to identify students, community members and veterans who would meet the qualifications to work on a particular project as an apprentice. We would be working with the local career and technical education programs to get their students and graduates employed and begin training as they progress on their career path. This is not a difficult path to take, as the bigger contractors already know they need to train their next generation of workers.
If you have questions about apprenticeships, lni.wa.gov/Apprenticeship is a great place to start.
Peter Lahmann
Apprenticeship specialist, Washington Department of Veterans Affairs
