Students in many of our programs are being trained in skills that make them excellent candidates for apprenticeship opportunities after graduation. Apprenticeships are paid working and learning opportunities that can lead to industry credentials and excellent wages and benefits.
Last week, our Metal Fabrication & Welding instructor Mr. Mello took his 11th graders to Local 17 in Dorchester to learn more about its apprenticeship program. This is a competitive process where the Local accepts about 50 people per year (ages 18-45). Apprentices learn advanced trade skills in the classroom and then go to work in an alternating week schedule. It is clear that our graduates would be strong candidates for these types of opportunities, but it requires a serious commitment!
Mr. Mello filled me in on the different apprenticeship options and opportunities for our students (and this is not necessarily limited to MFW students). Here is what Mr. Mello told me:
Ultimately for a student to decide which union they would like to join really depends on what type of work that student enjoys. With the MFW shop, students can also join Local 7 Ironworkers Union, Local 537 Pipefitters union, Local 4 Elevator Union, and also Local 104 Linemen's Union. All of these unions need welders and fabricators. Some of the above unions will also allow the students to learn other trades as well. (For example, Local 104 works with high tension lines (electricity over 500 volts). In situations like this they generally have weld aluminum pipes that carry the current because the copper wire cannot handle the resistance running through it.)
What benefits students from a vocational school versus a traditional high school is that they have already gained 3.5 years of experience. Unions like this because the students tend to catch on quicker and retain more making it easier for them to produce quality workers.
Vocational students also know what is expected of them on day one: Showing up on time, not calling in sick because you have the sniffles, knowing how to read a ruler, knowing how dangerous machinery is and what to look for on the safety side. All of these little things stick out during the interview/selection process.
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| Our MFW Junior class sporting Local 17 T-shirts |
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| Students tour the facility |
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| SSVT Graduate Ryan Lofgren (MFW Class of 2011) is in the Local 17 Apprenticeship Program. Good luck Ryan! |
Apprenticeships are an excellent example of post-high school learning and working that does not involve college enrollment. Not everyone needs to enroll in college, but we all need to get additional training in some form to advance our skills!
I urge students to ask your vocational teachers and guidance counselors about apprenticeship opportunities!
---Mr. Hickey
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