RICHMOND — It is the 10th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week and Virginia is highlighting some programs helping bridge the skills gap for workers and employers.
The programs, which have been part of the building trades for over a century, remain a cornerstone of workforce development in the state.
Charles Skelly, president of the Richmond Building and Construction Trades Council and business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 666, said in this economy, the benefits of an apprenticeship are unbeatable.
“It’s more than just simply job security though,” Skelly pointed out. “All of our trades have family-sustaining wages with health insurance, retirement a well-rounded benefits package. So they’ve got a career that they can take with them most of the time anywhere in the country.”
The Richmond program currently trains more than 300 apprentices, with plans to expand to 400 in the coming year to meet the growing demand for electricians. For people interested in joining the trades, organizations like Trades Futures can connect them with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities.
Skelly stressed as people recognize the traditional college pathway is not for everyone, they have long been training the next generation and can even help propel some to learn more quickly.
“The building trades have been doing this for generations and now the community colleges and everybody else is popping up talking about how do we do this? How do we do this?” Skelly observed. “All they have to do is hire union contractors for their projects and we will train the next generation of craftworkers.”
For college students, an apprenticeship initiative at West Virginia University has proved effective in retaining learners from diverse backgrounds. A recent Council on Undergraduate Research report recognized the program for improving student retention, particularly among underrepresented minorities.
