Northern High School senior Kyle Broadwater never imagined he'd have a paid apprenticeship job with a guided career track while still in school.
But, through the Maryland Apprenticeship program, Broadwater, who has an interest in welding, works five days a week at the Beitzel Corporation's machine shop in Bittinger. He leaves school after his first class — about 10 a.m. — and works about four hours before returning to the school for baseball practice around 2:30 p.m.
"When I heard about the program I jumped on it," said Broadwater, 18, who began work in mid-March.
The program, offered throughout the state, allows high school juniors and seniors to be considered for a paid apprenticeship with top employers.
Beitzel Corporation, with over 600 employees at locations across 30 states, is an approved Maryland Apprenticeship program employer. The company does industrial construction, including electrical, solar, oil and gas production, communications, machine builds, assembly and fabrication.
"I've always been interested in this and there's a demand for it," said Broadwater. "I know the higher up you get, there's money to be made in this."
Brandon Butler is the program coordinator for Garrett County Public Schools.
"These students are an employee of the company the first day on the job," Butler said. "They make at least minimum wage and the employer can pay more, which Beitzel (Corporation) does."
According to Butler, the program requires eligible employers to hire apprentices in guided career track occupations related to in-demand industries, including manufacturing, science, technology, engineering and math, while providing paid compensation and creating an earn-and-learn opportunity.
"The program requires 450 hours of on-the-job training and related instruction with the public school system as well as a mentorship with the employer," said Butler.
Employers must be located in close proximity to the local school system and expect future entry level job openings in career track occupations.
In addition to Beitzel Corporation and its engineering company Pillar Innovations, several employers have been approved to offer the apprenticeships in Garrett County, including Rush Services, First United Bank and Trust, Garrett County Public Schools, Byco Enterprises, Garrett Container Systems, and Service Master of Oakland.
Broadwater heard about the program when Paul Edwards, the school system's director of career, technology and education, spoke about it at Northern High.
"Maryland wants 45% of the graduates of every county and Baltimore city to graduate with either an apprentice program or an industry recognized credential," said Edwards, who also serves on the Garrett County Commission.
"For us it's good business," he added. "I hear all the time we have way more jobs than people to fill them. This is a good way to help and Kyle is a good example. He will probably live around here or a place like this his whole life. He could be a great employee for Beitzel for 30 to 40 years and make a nice life for himself."
Marisa Miller, a human resources recruiter for Beitzel Corporation, said the company is about to lose 40% of its workforce to retirement. "We are already finding it hard to find the skilled workers that we are looking for," she said. "The program is an excellent way to bring them through."
Article courtesy of The Cumberland Times-News. Reporter: Greg Larry. To reach Mr Larry, call 304-639-4951, email [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @GregLarryCTN.
