My Journey: Emilee Och, Local 24 apprentice

My Journey: Emilee Och Local 24 Apprentice

By Tiffannie Bond

While many teenagers were figuring out what classes to take the next school year, Emilee Och was making plans to be a union welder. As a student in the School to Apprenticeship Program, in Lima, Ohio, her aspirations were complemented with training while she was still in high school, and she earned apprentice wages throughout the process.

The School to Apprenticeship Program, known also as an apprentice readiness program, or ARP, provides a pathway for high school seniors to get a head start on their careers in the trades. Och was a student at Apollo Career Center when she was introduced to the program by Eugene Frazier, now-retired training coordinator from Local 24.

Elements of the School to Apprenticeship Program have dated back to the late 1980s, and high school seniors were added to the program around 2013. The program was officially formulized in the state of Ohio in 2021.

As a student in the program, Och became a pre-apprentice at age 16, between her junior and senior year of high school, and she was a first-year apprentice during her senior year.

In 2024, Och, 22, graduated from the apprentice program in Dayton, Ohio, and received an award recognizing her as the highest achieving apprentice, the Eugene Frazier II Award—named for the coordinator who introduced her to the program—along with perfect attendance. Och is the first woman to receive this recognition.

The program is the equivalent of high school students taking college classes for dual credit, she said.

“I knew I wanted to go union, for sure, but what I really liked is I could join right then and there and go to school at the same time,” Och added. From her home in Lima, Ohio, it was nearly a 90-minute drive, and she still managed to be the first apprentice since 2016 to achieve perfect attendance. “I was definitely keeping track of that, for sure. It was hard to make sure I was there every week, but I was pretty dedicated to it. I knew it would be worth it in the end, and it would be a good career for me.”

The School to Apprenticeship Program, or ARPs in general, ease high school students into adulthood with a varied schedule. Students attend school for two weeks, then work in the field for two weeks during the day while attending apprenticeship courses at Local 24’s training center in the evenings. The program allows them to retain their high school identities—playing football, participating in band and choir, attending senior trips—while jumpstarting their careers.

Graduates of the part-time program who enter Local 24 experience 80% retention rate, compared with the 50% retention rate the Local experiences among apprentices brought in using traditional means.

Och went from tinkering in the garage with her father as a child to working in the sheet metal shop at Smith-Boughan Mechanical in Lima. Her next goal is to become a foreperson.

“[The program] makes you feel more comfortable, helps you get the basics down, so you know what you’re getting into,” she said. “It gives you a sense of responsibility. You have to be to work on time. You have to be prepared. It gives you a sense of commitment. I definitely think it was a good path for me, for sure.”

Apprentices receive training in AutoCAD, air balancing, refrigeration/service, welding and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) design, fabrication, and installation. While they are learning in the classroom, they are gaining skills on the job site including installation of architectural sheet metal, kitchen equipment, and duct for heating and air conditioning systems in residential and commercial buildings.

The goal is for apprentices to graduate with zero tuition debt and a career to last a lifetime. ▪