Employers are struggling to fill positions in a tight labor market. There are only 92 available workers for every 100 job openings in California, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In Oregon, the stat is even more staggering, with 66 available workers for every 100 open jobs. To see the rate in your state, visit tinyurl.com/availableworkers.
Good jobs are out there for those with advanced skills that can come from career and technical education programs and apprenticeships. Even volunteer experience can transform a candidate into a desirable hire. Here is a sampling of programs working to fill the skills gap.
Alaska Works
Launched through a trade union partnership more than two decades ago, Alaska Works (alaskaworks.org) offers free classes covering basics in welding, wiring, first aid, construction, forklift operation, carpentry and more. The idea, says Gena Bolton with the Fairbanks site, is to give Alaskans ages 16 and older a taste of a variety of industries.
“We encourage people to take several different trainings, so they have a better idea of what they’re interested in or what their skill level is,” Gena says. “Not everyone is going to be an electrician. We need carpenters. We need laborers. We need welders.”
Alaska Works also helps with applications for union apprenticeships and interview training. Participation doesn’t guarantee union acceptance, but Gena says it shows an applicant’s commitment, and that does not go unnoticed.
Not all participants become union members. Gena says some use the forklift certification to earn an extra $3 an hour in their current jobs.
“There’s a lot of different kinds of success,” she says.
Trying on Apprenticeship
Giving potential union recruits a taste of the trades early is the goal of the preapprentice programs overseen by Jeff Reinhardt, executive administrator at Local 66 Western Washington Sheet Metal.
Local 66 works with several initiatives, including Heavy Metal Summer (hmse.org), a series of free summer camp explorations offered across the country, and ANEW (anewcareer.org), a Puget Sound-based multiunion partnership.
Local 66 offers its own summer preapprenticeship for rising high school seniors or recent graduates. Jeff says the union usually only takes two candidates from any one school. Once accepted, recruits are expected to arrive at 6 a.m. and work all day in classrooms and in the shop.
“Can you imagine a high school kid not getting up at 6, but starting at 6 a.m.?” Jeff says. “Most of the time they’re in the parking lot here at 5:15, and there are some that are coming a half hour, 45 minutes away. It’s impressive to see the level of commitment.”
The first week, the program always loses a few of the 20 or so recruits.
“Like I tell them, ‘Don’t feel bad if you decide this isn’t what you want to do,’” Jeff says. “At least you can check that box and say, ‘Hey, I tried it. I don’t want to do that.’”
At the end of the program, about five participants are offered apprenticeships, skipping applications and interviews. That five-year apprenticeship comes with paid training, health insurance and on-the-job experience.
One of the goals of the program is to prevent the “seven-year gap,” a phenomenon where people spend four years in college and another three trying to find jobs before finally discovering the benefits of a trade apprenticeship.
“So, why don’t we just go straight to them and see what kind of interest they have,” Jeff says.
Hermiston High School Gets to Work
Roger Berger’s accounting students at Hermiston High School in Eastern Oregon would often wonder when they would use the skills learned in his class.
Roger had an immediate answer for them when the opportunity arose to launch a school coffee shop. More than 17 years later, that initial practical application has evolved into a career and technical education department with 11 pathway programs, including agriculture, health sciences and engineering.
In the business program, students manage two concessions businesses, run a print shop making signs and promotional materials, and produce apparel for the school district. Roger says people are surprised at the program’s scale, with students handling every aspect from human resources to publicity.
“Our goal this year was to do $200,000 between five businesses, and I think we’ll probably be closer to $250,000,” he says. “People always think, ‘Oh you have a Keurig and a little teapot.’ No, we have a full espresso machine, and we have probably one of the best ovens in the country. We’re really trying to build the opportunity for our students to work with the equipment they’re going to see out in the field.”
Thanks to community partnerships, students participate in internships, job shadowing, practicums and site visits. Roger
is grateful that Umatilla Electric Cooperative provides experiences for computer science, engineering and marketing students. Others have gained skills through business and medical partnerships.
“What we’re trying to show is there is incredible value in school and in taking advantage of opportunities and giving yourself the best chance for success,” he says.
The Best of Both Worlds
Tim Myres got tired of hearing a four-year degree was superior to an apprenticeship. So, when he was working at Sheet Metal Local 20’s training center in Indiana, he partnered with Ivy Tech Community College to help apprentices earn associate degrees and journeyperson status simultaneously. When he moved to Local 104 in the San Francisco Bay area, he wanted to launch a dual-credit apprenticeship.
“We’re always raising our hand, yelling out loud that we’re as good as a college,” Tim says. “Without a degree, people can argue that. So, it’s important that if they go through our program, they not only develop a career that they’ll have for a lifetime, with all the skills they learn, but they’ve also received an associate degree. Nobody can argue now that we’re not at the same level as a college. We are a higher education facility.”
Most participants get college credit for experience gained through their five-year apprenticeships, but there are usually a few classes needed to complete an associate degree. Teaming with Foothill College, Tim worked to translate union training into community college equivalents that led to degrees for his apprentices.
In the end, there were two classes remaining: English and humanities. The college offers a humanities class at no cost to apprentices. For the English requirement, students can enroll in an industry-specific program that teaches how to write construction documents and professional responses to evaluations and draft research papers on an issue affecting the Local 104 in California.
“It’s not just, ‘I had some English class, and I had to read stuff.’” Tim says. “No, this is actually stuff you can use and learn from that will help you moving forward as a professional.”
Foothill College is developing a bachelor’s degree for those who want to go into project management.
Managing family dynamics and expectations is a big part of Tim’s mission, too.
“There are a lot of families that say, ‘Don’t go into the building trades. You’re smarter than that. Go to college,’” he says. “They can have both here. They can have a job where they’re making money, receiving health care benefits, receiving a pension and getting the college degree, and it costs the family nothing. How can parents argue that?”
Benefits of Volunteer Work
Even after college, a career path isn’t always clear. One choice is public service. AmeriCorps (americorps.gov) helps train and deploy volunteers who work with schools, nonprofits and government organizations.
Branches include AmeriCorps NCCC, a full-time, team-based, residential program for 18- to 24-year-olds tapped to help in natural disasters, work on public land and more. AmeriCorps VISTA, short for Volunteers in Service To America, places individuals with organizations that fight poverty. AmeriCorps State and National matches participants with organizations that see service as a solution to local, regional and national challenges. AmeriCorps Seniors provides retirees with opportunities to serve.
Benefits for AmeriCorps participants include scholarships to use on higher education or to pay off student loans, and modest stipends to cover living expenses. Jacqueline Simon, AmeriCorps senior public affairs specialist, says the program gives people who aren’t sure what they want to do yet the opportunity to pause and get some actual hands-on experience in the field.
“I think that’s actually a really important thing to have the opportunity to explore and learn and find more about yourself,” she says. “There is a place for everyone. That I am certain of, whether someone is 18, right out of high school and not really sure if college is right for them, or what path to study in college, or if they just need a breather. It is an incredible hands-on experience where you learn new skills, you build professional relationships, and you get guidance from people who have worked in a field for a long time.”
A breather is exactly what AmeriCorps alumnus RoShawn Perry needed after finishing college in Ohio. He wanted to return to California to be close to family and had dreams of graduate school but needed a break from the classroom. An AmeriCorps representative encouraged him to apply to be a lead for an NCCC team. He served a year and then signed up for a second stint through the AmeriCorps State and National program working with adolescents.
“I really enjoyed my experience,” RoShawn says. “It really stretched me a lot of ways. It gave me a huge boost of confidence as a leader.”
After earning his master’s degree, RoShawn returned to AmeriCorps and served as a unit leader, helping direct teams of young adults traveling the country. Now he works for a nonprofit that partners with AmeriCorps sponsoring volunteers.
RoShawn encourages anyone who’s uncertain about what chart to course for their life to take time to serve others, travel the nation and get to know different communities and people.
“It will allow you to have new experiences that will hopefully expand your world views and your perspective in life,” he says. “And you get to do it while making lifelong friends and having a fun time.”