NEWS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
A practical education
BY MEREDITH WHITTEN
Industry is using apprenticeships, internships and other innovative programs to refine the workforce pipeline.
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ixteen years ago, Spencer Coxe started as a machinist in ExxonMobil’s apprenticeship program. For four years, Coxe balanced classroom work with on-thejob training. When he completed the program, he had earned a certificate as a first-class machinist from the State of Louisiana. He also earned a permanent position working for ExxonMobil, where today Coxe works as a first-line supervisor and also mentors current apprentices at the company. “I thought I knew everything about machine work before I came here,” Coxe says. “What I learned in the apprenticeship program really
COLLIN RICHIE
ON THE JOB: The Dow Chemical Co. offers apprenticeships at its facilities in Plaquemine and Hahnville. Apprenticeship Program Tech Leader Dustin Troxclair educates apprentices Chandler Young (left) and Jared Lands.
opened my eyes to safety, working with different types of equipment and working with different supervisors.” Yet, it is not just Coxe who benefited from his time as an apprentice—ExxonMobil did, too. Industrial companies providing apprenticeships, internships, co-ops and other workforce-development programs reap immense benefits. For many businesses, including in south Louisiana, these initiatives are critical for ensuring the company, as well as industry overall, stays globally competitive by developing a skilled workforce. As IndustryWeek reports, President Donald Trump would seem
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to agree. He publicly announced he wants to ramp up the number of apprenticeships in the United States from 500,000 to 5 million. And he’s promising money to back up the idea—with $200 million, to be exact, more than the $90 million the Obama administration allocated for the effort. “Trump specifically mentioned manufacturing apprenticeships in his executive order on apprenticeship expansion, issued in June,” IndustryWeek notes. “It’s an order that has potential, say workforce leaders in manufacturing, but lacks meaningful details. ... The big questions: Where will the extra funding come from, as the White House
budget proposal slashes Department of Labor funds by 21%? And which regulations will be changed or eliminated, as Trump promised, to make apprenticeship programs more accessible and user-friendly for real-world employers?” While there is talk of creating new federal incentives for apprenticeship programs, large manufacturers like ExxonMobil and Dow are already moving the needle on their own. DIFFERENT FLAVOR OF HIRING “[These programs] deepen the pipeline,” explains Shawn Loachridge, human resources leader with The Dow Chemical Company. “They all tie together when we talk 1012industryreport.com