Community and Workforce Partnerships
Their circumstances and career interests couldn’t be more different. But
After 26 years of general factory jobs, Navarro’s apprenticeship
their apprenticeship experiences have one thing in common: they’ve been
experience has inspired him to dream bigger.
life changing. “Right now, my main goal is to finish the apprenticeship program,” he
“I never thought I’d be returning to corporate America—and, by the time I realized I might have to, it would have been difficult to follow a traditional pathway,” says Berg. “This apprenticeship program was the answer for me. It’s not just for students coming out of high school. It’s for everyone.”
“A well-educated workforce builds the foundation for shared economic prosperity.”
the college’s strategic visioning process. “We wanted to remove barriers to student success by developing an apprenticeship program that would reduce the cost and time involved in getting a college degree while equipping students with skills that were aligned with marketplace needs,” says Vice President of Community and
need of qualified applicants as baby boomers reached retirement age and
“I read a story about a woman who, like me, was educated in a different
EARN WHILE YOU LEARN WITH APPRENTICESHIPS
The seeds of CLC’s apprenticeship program were planted in 2017 during
more robust workforce pipeline by preparing students to fill positions in
underrepresented.
A Pipeline to Prosperity
robotics and automation or aerospace. Or maybe I’ll run my own shop.”
Workforce Partnerships Dr. Ali O’Brien. “We also wanted to create a
Peterson wanted to forge a career in a field where women were
— Noah Berger and Peter Fisher; Economic Analysis and Research Network Report: A Well-Educated Workforce is Key to State Prosperity (August 22, 2013)
confides. “But after that I may get into some form of engineering—
field but really wanted to expand opportunities for women,” she says. “She decided to start a new career as a mechanic, opened her own shop and now employs an all-female staff of mechanics. I was so inspired by that. Then I received a brochure about College of Lake County’s apprenticeship programs in the mail. When I opened it, there was a photo of a young woman buffing a classic car, with copy that read: ‘Come join one of our apprenticeship programs.’ I was sold! I’m having so much fun now—and I’m finally in a situation where I can say, ‘I just want to be at work.’”
manufacturing continued to expand in Lake County.” “The data coming in at the county and national level indicated apprenticeships were a successful way for employers to fill their talent pipeline and increase their retention rates,” she adds. “So, we reached out to local businesses and corporations to gauge their interest in partnering with us and to determine their specific industry needs, which became the main drivers of our program design.” Meanwhile, O’Brien and her team were making good on another strategic objective: the establishment of the college’s new Community
Since its inception in August 2020, College of Lake County’s apprenticeship program created new pathways to student success by combining career-related classroom instruction with on-the-job training guided by a mentor. It’s a win-win situation: student apprentices earn while they learn and get a jumpstart on their chosen careers while local employers gain access to a custom-trained workforce. CLC’s new student apprentices are a diverse group: • Darrell Berg, a 59-year-old Navy veteran and former computer programmer, is apprenticing with Aon to find a pathway back to corporate America after a decade of semi-retirement. • Olivia Peterson (pictured above), a 28-year-old with master’s degrees in music and library science, is preparing for a new career in auto collision repair after she experienced a dearth of opportunities in the music field and her prospects for a second career as a librarian dimmed during the pandemic.
94%+
$1.47
$70K
$300K+
Percentage of apprentices who retain employment after apprenticeship completion
Employer return on every dollar invested in apprenticeships
Average starting salary for students who have completed apprentice programs
Lifetime earning average for apprentice graduates
• Jesse Navarro, a 44-year-old former factory worker, is apprenticing at Leppala Machining to get the specialized skills he needs to program and operate advanced
Sources: apprenticeship.gov and nationalapprenticeship.org
manufacturing equipment.
18 CLC CONNECTS
JUNE 2021 19
