Thursday, March 28, 2024

Registered Apprentice Program information session scheduled for Feb. 22

Posted

OKANOGAN – Apprenticeship programs and how to develop and register them for both adults and youth in Okanogan County will be the topic of an information session at the Okanogan PUD on Thursday, Feb. 22, noon to 2 p.m.
Sponsored by WorkSource, Okanogan County Economic Alliance and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, the session will be led by L&I Apprenticeship Outreach and Education Specialist Rachel McAloon. McAloon is working under a Federal Department of Labor grant to develop apprenticeships with Washington State employers. McAloon previously underwrote and managed employer industrial insurance accounts with L&I.
McAloon said apprenticeships are not just showing up in the traditional fields of plumbing, carpentry, and electrical work but also in business like Information Technology (IT), financial services, early childhood care and education and insurance among others.
“The Department of Labor’s list of apprenticeable occupations – jobs permitted to have registered apprenticeships – contains over a thousand entries,” said McAloon. “In order to meet rural challenges, communities have the opportunity to stretch their thinking beyond tradition to imagine an apprenticeship infrastructure that meets a wider variety of community needs.”
McAloon stressed that the health of rural America is dependent upon a well-resourced and well-staffed healthcare and education network as well as a skilled workforce pool in traditional trades. While these apprenticeship programs fill a vital community need, they can also provide students an option to the heavy student loan debt that often comes with earning a college degree.
The information session will be held in the Okanogan PUD building at 1331 Second Ave. N. in Okanogan.
More information on and applications for Registered Apprenticeship Programs can be found online at https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/arts/ExternalReports/ProgramsByCountyReport.aspx.
 Interested participants are requested to RSVP to Kristi O’Neill at email kroneill@esd.wa.gov or call (509) 826-7555.
 

Okanogan, apprentice program

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here