{"id":23758,"date":"2014-07-30T12:23:31","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T17:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/?p=23758"},"modified":"2014-07-30T12:23:31","modified_gmt":"2014-07-30T17:23:31","slug":"skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Skilled Labor Apprenticeships Also A Form of \u2018Higher Education\u2019","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"color: #555555\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/homepage-thumb-app1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-23760 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/homepage-thumb-app1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"homepage thumb app\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/homepage-thumb-app1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/homepage-thumb-app1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/homepage-thumb-app1.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>The term \u201chigher education\u201d can take on many connotations. Where some believe it means attending a two- or four-year college or university, there is another side to higher education \u2013 apprenticeship in the skilled labor trades.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">Apprentices at more than 153 unionized sheet metal training centers across the United States and Canada go to classes, attend labs, earn grades and receive on-the-job training in four- to five-year programs. Apprentices are paid while they work to become journeymen, and, usually, they graduate debt free. While they don\u2019t march down the aisle in caps and gowns for graduation, they are rewarded with hourly wages above and beyond those many university graduates can hope to make until they have \u201cpaid their dues\u201d \u2013 if they ever receive comparable earnings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">Curricula for the country\u2019s sheet metal workers are developed by the International Training Institute (ITI), the education arm of the unionized sheet metal and air conditioning industry. The apprenticeship program isn\u2019t for people who failed at college or wanted to choose another route to a stable income. The program is for serious individuals who want to pursue an education, skill level and career in a trade such as the unionized sheet metal industry.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">Just as the world needs doctors, lawyers and tax accountants to survive, it also needs heating, ventilation and air conditioning designers and technicians; welders to build schools and plants; certified fire life safety professionals to ensure a building on fire doesn\u2019t place lives in jeopardy; designers to create building systems to keep occupants safe, comfortable and breathing clean air; industrial workers who build plants for power and sustainable energy, \u00a0installing conduits the size of football fields; and technicians to conduct energy audits to keep buildings operating efficiently.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">These skills take education, dedication and talent. The labor trades aren\u2019t reserved for the less-intelligent. They are necessary career paths important to the proper functioning of the country and are there for those who take interest in a different kind of work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">This spring, Mike Rowe, formerly of Discovery Channel\u2019s \u201cDirty Jobs,\u201d testified on Capitol Hill for more attention to be paid to the jobs that need to be done by the skilled labor force.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">\u201cThe reality is: look at the opportunities that are out there, make a case for the trades, and stop with this idea that there\u2019s only one way to get educated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">Once the education is earned, jobs are available as well. It varies by state, but jobs are available, and more are on the horizon and on major projects such as the new Minnesota Vikings or Atlanta Falcon stadiums, airport renovations and new construction of high rises and office buildings around the country.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">First Lady Michelle Obama\u2019s new initiative, Reach Higher, focuses on inspiring all American students to take charge of their future by pursing and completing their higher education \u2013 and that includes apprenticeship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #555555\">In April, Vice Pres. Joe Biden announced the launch of the Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium (RACC), which is intended to bridge the gap between colleges and registered apprenticeship programs, allowing graduates of these programs to earn college credit for their training.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The term \u201chigher education\u201d can take on many connotations. Where some believe it means attending a two- or four-year college or university, there is another side to higher education \u2013 apprenticeship in the skilled labor trades. Apprentices at more than 153 unionized sheet metal training centers across the United States and Canada go to classes, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":9,"featured_media":23759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"member_types":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Skilled Labor Apprenticeships Also A Form of \u2018Higher Education\u2019 - SMART Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Skilled Labor Apprenticeships Also A Form of \u2018Higher Education\u2019 - SMART Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The term \u201chigher education\u201d can take on many connotations. Where some believe it means attending a two- or four-year college or university, there is another side to higher education \u2013 apprenticeship in the skilled labor trades. Apprentices at more than 153 unionized sheet metal training centers across the United States and Canada go to classes, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SMART Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-30T17:23:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/homepage-thumb-app.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"paul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"paul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"paul\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/#\/schema\/person\/3bf284ac953ca998cc3f03167a72c88f\"},\"headline\":\"Skilled Labor Apprenticeships Also A Form of \u2018Higher Education\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-07-30T17:23:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-07-30T17:23:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/\"},\"wordCount\":531,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/homepage-thumb-app.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/skilled-labor-apprenticeships-also-a-form-of-higher-education\/\",\"name\":\"Skilled Labor Apprenticeships Also A Form of \u2018Higher Education\u2019 - 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