Former apprentices and job placement professionals recount their success stories.
Regarding Heather Long’s Sept. 3 op-ed column, “A college degree isn’t the only ticket to the American Dream”:
Ms. Long’s commentary appears at a timely moment. I was disappointed with the relatively small enrollment numbers in the United States compared with Switzerland and Germany.
Many years ago, I served a four-year apprenticeship repairing machines at the sprawling Cadillac plant in Detroit. I discovered the ways in which these programs link your brain, your vision and your hands to do remarkable things. If you spend your life on the shop floor, you can have a satisfying, well-paid career, and many other opportunities might open up.
I spent five years at Cadillac and then worked as a machinist for another five years at Energy Conversion Devices, a start-up working on renewable energy, memory chips and batteries, among much else. The brilliant scientist who founded the firm, Stanford Ovshinsky, began his career as a machinist. Smithsonian magazine referred to him as “arguably one of the greatest thinkers and inventors you’ve never heard of.”
I finished my career as a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in labor and global economics. Everything I’ve done I owe to that apprenticeship in Detroit and its related classes at Henry Ford Community College.
Harley Shaiken, Berkeley, Calif.
Heather Long’s Sept. 3 column about apprenticeships recognizes two important truths in the United States: Young people struggle to afford higher education and, more importantly, there are many good careers available that don’t require the time and expense of a four-year degree.
Throughout my career in education and job access, I’ve seen the importance of providing non-college job training and opportunities, particularly to young people in underserved communities. High school students who would excel in college have told me that, even if college costs were low, they couldn’t afford the time. Their families and communities need them to contribute as soon as possible. Apprenticeships and training programs — such as those offered by my organization, Great Jobs KC — provide the engine for an entire community’s economic development.
This is not a new phenomenon. College enrollment has been dropping since the pandemic as young people find new ways to support themselves, their families and their communities. Good jobs exist, but it’s vital we provide greater access to them through training and other support. This is how we help the entire country.
Earl Martin Phalen, Kansas City, Mo.
The writer is chief executive of Great Jobs KC.
My son has been an electrician’s apprentice with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for three years. He loves it. He did not want to go to college, and this program provides a good job, good benefits and good future prospects. There is a defined career path and defined salary increases, so people like my son have a sense of security about their futures.
We hear a lot about the hollowing out of the middle class. Programs like this will help fill that void. But as Heather Long’s column mentioned, there isn’t enough publicity about these programs. My son found out about it through a friend. There was no mention of it in his high school.
Kurt Kissler, Fredericksburg
About 50 years ago, I told a friend, who was the superintendent of the Ventura Unified School District in California at the time, about the advantages of technical high schools, like those found in Europe and South America. It was my opinion that not all people graduating from traditional high schools were qualified to attend college. Instead, technical schools offered the opportunity to learn a trade that could provide a good job and better remuneration than the wages typically offered to someone with just a high school diploma.
My friend only laughed and said: “No parent is going to send their child to that kind of school. All parents believe their children are going to attend college. They think attending technical high school is demeaning.”
Thirty years ago, the district opened its first technical high school. It has since become very successful. My grandson was one of the first to enroll. From there, he attended and graduated from California Polytechnic State University. I hope the winds change, and technical high schools become more common.
Jorge Arman, Ventura, Calif.
What about young people who don’t go to college? Much of Donald Trump’s political base doesn’t feel seen or heard. The former president speaks to the 70 percent of Americans without a college education who feel disrespected by people with degrees and programs such as loan forgiveness. They need strong support from Vice President Kamala Harris. She should propose the following legislation:
- Provide tax credits for attending accredited vocational schools, apprentice programs or trade schools.
- Remove upper limits on payroll deductions.
- Begin payroll deductions only after earning $40,000.
This is a simple plan that immediately leaves more money in people’s pockets, provides support for those choosing not to pursue a college program and ensures that we produce the skilled labor force that the future needs. Furthermore, there is a net gain in government revenue by offsetting the loss of deductions on low-income earners with the gain of taxing upper incomes.
Ralph DiSibio, Moorestown, N.J.
I became an apprentice in 1964. My program lasted 3½ years, and when I graduated at 20, I was making more money — including salary, overtime and bonuses — than my dad did working two jobs.
After a few years, I realized the job wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I worked for a big company that offered many opportunities for advancement. I also recognized that, in order to get one of these opportunities, I needed to prepare myself, which is why I began university studies. I obtained a master’s degree in business, began moving through the management ranks and ultimately became president of the company’s largest business unit.
People have looked down on apprenticeships as the beginnings of dead-end jobs. I heartily disagree. Apprenticeships can lead to lifetime employment in a chosen field. They can also be a doorway to other previously unseen careers. At their core, apprenticeships are learning opportunities that build confidence in one’s ability to acquire new skills. This is something that can be repeated in an ever changing world.
Ronald Daly, Hernando, Fla.
Heather Long is right: There is a lack of knowledge about noncollege learning opportunities such as apprenticeships. But I disagree that stigma is the biggest obstacle for individuals to overcome. Many Americans do find apprenticeships attractive.
The Charles Koch Foundation and several partners recently commissioned a study with Hattaway Communications. It found that only 29 percent of Americans think apprenticeships are accessible, but 75 percent consider them appealing. People want noncollege pathways to existing careers. They just need to know where to get started.
While federal funding might help grow individual apprenticeship programs, it won’t close the awareness gap. In fact, subjecting programs to standardized, top-down requirements could be counterproductive. A better option is for educators and training providers to work directly with employers to address local needs and then clearly communicate the benefits to the people they’re trying to recruit.
Three of our grant recipients stand out as great examples. Per Scholas builds bottom-up solutions for businesses based on what both employers and learners need. One particularly inspiring example of this is its partnership with Barclays, which created a highly successful, customized cybersecurity curriculum.
Reach University partners with local schools to help working adults become K-12 educators through a job-embedded apprenticeship degree program. Teaching aides, bus drivers and other school employees train to become teachers while on the job, gaining hands-on experience. Upon graduation, they move into full-time teaching jobs.
Employers must improve their application processes, too. Opportunity@Work helps companies understand and articulate job needs so they attract new pools of talent and so applicants understand how learning opportunities such as apprenticeships can help them advance.
Let’s elevate these bottom-up solutions to make people confident that they can have well-paying, fulfilling careers without college degrees. These options provide proven paths to pursuing the American Dream.
Ryan Stowers, Arlington
The writer is the executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation.
I run the Fiber Optic Association, which does workforce development for fiber-optic technicians. The problem with apprenticeships is the nature of the workforce. Many fiber techs are contract workers who go from job to job, sometimes nomads working around the country or world.
Apprenticeships require steady employment and capable supervision, which is not common in our field. What seems to work better is a combination of online training and on-the-job training, which the FOA provides.
There is one exception. We have a long partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Electrical Training Alliance, providing curriculum and certifications to thousands of electricians who get fiber-optic training as part of their electrical apprenticeship. If you want to see a successful apprenticeship program, that’s the one to look at.
Jim Hayes, Santa Monica, Calif.
The writer is president of the Fiber Optic Association.
After a long and successful career as a lineman and crew leader for an electric utility in New Hampshire, I began thinking about retirement. In March 2018, I pulled the plug on a 35-year career that I loved and that afforded me a great living.
Just before my retirement, the company that I worked for partnered with a community college to train workers in a pre-apprenticeship program. I was chosen to help get the program started; my plan was to help for a semester or two and then leave. I am still at it and enjoying being a part of it.
The program is a huge success, benefiting both the utility industry as well as the college students. We have trained and placed upward of 100 students in careers with starting salaries of $96,000 (excluding benefits). The United States needs more workers to replace the retiring baby boomers, like me.
Timothy Tsantoulis, Hooksett, N.H.
Heather Long responds
I’ve heard from people all over the country who want to see more apprenticeships in their communities. It’s clear why this has bipartisan appeal. But now, we need to actually do it. Yes, this will require federal and state funding — and investment from businesses. But it will also require some creative thinking to ensure more Americans can access these programs.
Right now, apprentices are overwhelmingly male (84 percent), and most (58 percent) are older than 24. Small steps to get the word out and make enrollment easier can make a difference, as several letter writers point out. The Laborers Training School in Arizona that I visited is planning to offer an all-female cohort for the first time to encourage more women to join. I’ve also heard of programs offering Uber vouchers to help with transportation for people who lack cars to get to the training sites.
The ideal scenario would be apprenticeship programs that begin in high school so it’s even easier for young people to find these opportunities. It’s telling that many apprentices in the United States don’t start until their late 20s or early 30s. That’s different from other countries, and it’s a lost opportunity that we need to fix.
I’ll never forget what construction apprentice Joseph Aranda, 31, told me in Phoenix: “When covid happened, the government sent everyone a letter and stimulus check. Why can’t we send a letter to everyone to let them know about apprenticeships?”
