This is National Apprenticeship Week, and Michigan Works is taking time to focus the spotlight on some successful apprentices right in Southwest Michigan.
Michigan Works Director of Business Solutions Mark O’Riley tells us apprenticeships have grown in popularity in recent years as employers seek immediate relief for staffing shortages. Michigan Works helps facilitate many of those apprenticeships.
“Obviously at the moment, many employers out there are struggling to find talent,” O’Riley said. “We have a lot of people who are retiring out of the workforce and they’re taking with them a lot of that institutional knowledge. So the apprenticeship model is a way for the employers to be able to build the type of employee with the skill sets that they need, so it’s customizable to each employer and to each sector.”
O’Riley says all kinds of industries, ranging from healthcare to customer service, offer apprenticeships. The U.S. Department of Labor determines how long different kinds of apprenticeships should last, depending on the industry. For example, to become an electrician, the apprenticeship takes about four years, while some medical apprenticeships take about two years.
Michigan Works asked Southwest Michigan businesses to nominate their own apprentices for honors this week, and it’s been visiting the winners to give them awards. Below is a list of the selected recipients.
The six selected individuals for the 2024 Celebrate an Apprentice Awards are:
Jacob Ashcraft, a third-year Machine Builder apprentice at Edgewater Automation in Buchanan
Thomas Ashmead, a second-year Mold Maker apprentice at Hanson International in St. Joseph
Carols Hernandez, a second-year Machinist apprentice at Max³, LLC in Benton Harbor
Ryan McCuddy, a first-year Machinist apprentice at Grotnes in Niles
Dany Pardo, a second-year Electric Assembly apprentice at Convergix Automation in Shoreham
Jordan Williams, a third-year Machine Builder apprentice at Edgewater Automation in Buchanan