VCC Magazine Summer 2018

Career and Technical Education: A Stepping Stone to Apprenticeships By Dr. Brenda D. Long

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Career Technical Education continues to expand and increase opportunities for high school students to gain technical skills and academic knowledge through apprenticeship programs. Part of the mission of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry is to improve opportunities for business and employees and to contribute to the economic and

placements. These students take high school academic and career and technical education classes, then spend a minimum of 20 hours per week on a job where they are paid an hourly wage. With a dependable work­ force being developed through the apprenticeship program, local businesses and school officials concur that the available pool

development and quality of life. The Youth Registered Apprenticeship (YRA) program provides such an opportunity. Coordinating efforts involving business, industry, and local school division, YRA addresses the dual role of preparing high school students for the world of work and providing Virginia with a highly skilled workforce. Youth Registered Apprenticeship (YRA) integrates school-based and work-based learning to help students gain employability and occupational skills. Local programs provide training based on statewide youth apprenticeship curriculum guidelines, endorsed by business and industry. Students are instructed by qualified teachers and skilled journey worker worksite experts. Students are simultaneously enrolled in high school academic classes to meet graduation requirements and in career and technical education related classes for the technical instruction. Five local school divisions are part of the pilot program for YRA. Other school divisions have embraced the strategy of YRA and have instituted apprenticeship programs that work with business and industry through local agreements. James Bundrick, Director of Career and Technical Education in Louisa County Public Schools provided the following update on the YRA program. Louisa County excelled in their debut year as the first rural school division in the Commonwealth to pilot the Youth Registered Apprenticeship program. This program allows students to simultaneously combine career and technical courses and on-the-job training into their high school schedules. The program involved fourteen career clusters and related technical training, from culinary arts to auto mechanics. Students adhere to an application process that includes interviews to become apprentices with area employers. At this time, over 100 students applied and were accepted through a rigorous vetting process. Fifty employers/sponsors have signed on as partners with YRA and Louisa County Public Schools. Of the total number of applications, 36 were hired as apprentices or part-time work-based learning

of well-trained workers will increase, and Louisa›s skilled graduates will not need to leave the area to find employment. To learn more about the program visit the Louisa County Public Schools Career and Technical Education website, https://www.lcpscte.org . Frederick County Public Schools offered the Registered Youth Apprenticeships beginning in Academic Year 2017-2018 for students enrolled in Electricity II. Mary Beth Echeverria, Supervisor of Career and Technical Education provided an update on Frederick County’s program. Though not part of the state pilot program, Frederick County Public Schools embraced YRA as part of a strategic and comprehensive approach to work-based learning for high school students. The students enrolled in career and technical education and academic classes to meet graduation requirements and gain technical skills and academic knowledge. As a registered apprenticeship sponsor, the school division’s Facilities Services Department hired three students to provide on-the-job-training with licensed technicians. Using technical skills in a real work setting gives students the experience they need to become successful employees.  It is a goal of Frederick County Schools to provide continuity, and where possible, hire the Registered Youth Apprentices as Registered Apprentices upon graduation to “grow our own” workforce. In Frederick County Public Schools, the target is to identify direct links between curriculum and apprenticeship occupations in order to expand this valuable form of work-based learning and prepare high school students for a highly skilled workforce. The next focus for apprenticeship opportunities is the Architecture and Construction Career Cluster and specifically the Building Trades (plumbing, electricity, carpentry, masonry) over the next couple of years. Experiencing a shortage in this career cluster and expanding the YRA will increase Frederick County’s qualified workforce. For more information, access Frederick County Public Schools website, https://www.frederick.k12.va.us . These are only two of the many school See A Stepping Stone , continued on page 22

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Bonnie Atwood is a writer with numerous state and national awards and a lobbyist who lives in Richmond, Va.

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S ummer 2018

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