Interest in apprenticeship programs on the rise statewide – WV MetroNews

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Apprenticeship programs are growing in West Virginia.

West Virginia Affiliated Construction Trades (ACT) Director Justin Williams said their members move the dirt, build the bridges, mine the coal, repair the trucks, energize circuits, and build the hospitals that care for our families and they are training future workers.

The organization manages apprenticeship programs that have starting wages of $20 to $23 per hour, with some opportunities at the journeyman level to make $40 per hour plus benefits and retirement.

“There are 2,500 apprentices in West Virginia, and we represent about 24,000 construction workers,” Williams said recently on MetroNews “Talkline.” “It’s not a huge number but it’s people that get up and go to work every day, and they make a big impact on their communities and state.”

Williams said West Virginia is quickly becoming “ground zero” for a wide range of employment opportunities, from electric school bus manufacturing to aviation, aerospace, and, of course, the trades that build and maintain the facilities.

The training programs are available to residents, or residents of neighboring counties in other states, who are 18 years old, have a high school diploma or equivalent, have a driver’s license, and can pass a drug test.

“With the investments we’re seeing in these factories, these are 20, 30, 40-year-old or more careers that people coming out of high school now can have,” Williams said. “They’ll have a living wage, benefits, and a pension.”

Apprenticeship is the vehicle to train the next generation with a combination of classroom learning and on-the-job training with seasoned professionals. The system allows employers to prepare and develop their future workforce.

“You are learning from those professionals who have been doing this for 10, 20, 30, even 40 years, and you’re getting paid to do it,” Williams said. “So, instead of having to take out debt, you get the classes for free, and you get paid to learn the trade or skill.”

ACT works with programs that touch on all aspects of building construction, operation, and maintenance. Much of the demand is fueled by federal investment through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“We’re seeing demand, and our apprenticeship programs are looking at ways that they’re prepared to have that workforce in place to not just build it but maintain those facilities for years to come,” Williams said.

Williams said people don’t have to go to college in the current market to get a job that will support a family. Many electricians, plumbers, pipe fitters, iron workers, truck drivers, and sheet metal workers are being trained and moving up the skill and compensation ladder right now.

“I think we’re coming back together as a community to make sure our friends and neighbors have good jobs, and that doesn’t always mean going to college,” Williams said. “We need the spectrum—the doctors and lawyers—but we also need the construction worker and the manufacturer.”