College isn’t the right path for every student nearing the end of their high school career, with a variety of circumstances influencing that final decision for students in Maryland and across the country.
One great alternative for those not pursuing higher education is getting into the trades, which can be profitable and rewarding for young adults right after graduation.
For others who do choose college, they might graduate with little to no professional experience in their field, making the job hunt more difficult.
In Maryland, an initiative called Maryland Apprenticeship Connector (MAC), funded by the Maryland State Board of Education and the Maryland Works grant, aims to provide opportunities for both groups by offering early access and training for future career fields.
The goal is to open up a school-to-career pathway for students and give them a leg up in
securing jobs.
“The Maryland Works grant is tied to a blueprint for Maryland’s future, which was legislation that says that by 2030, 45% of highschoolers will have received an industry-recognized credential or participated in a high school -level apprenticeship by the time they graduate,” says Jennifer Dewees, who works with MAC and serves as the president of the Maryland Center for Construction Education & Innovation.
These apprenticeships are not only for careers typically considered as the trades. Youth apprenticeships are currently being offered in healthcare and a teaching program is under development.
Having that approach means these youth apprenticeships are extended to all kinds of students looking to get some professional development and experience under their belt while still in school.
Plus, Dewees says that all these apprenticeships are paid positions that also emphasize job instruction and have the benefit of giving students that favored industry-reconized credential at the end of their apprenticeship.
“A lot of these apprenticeships have the credential built in while they learn in high school. And that’s something that’s an amazing takeaway for resume building,” Dewees says. “I mean, how many people can say that they’ve been trained in a skills-based education before they even graduated high school? Not many.”
Youth apprenticeships can function in a variety of different ways based on the industry, company and the student’s schedule, with some students getting instruction in school and then working on the job site during free periods, and some programs taking several years before completion.
Students also must be at least 16 years old before they are eligible to work in these programs, a requirement also made easier by the more flexible schedules students might receive towards the tail end of high school.
“I go to school and work on alternating days. And through all my on-the-job hours being in the apprenticeship and the coursework I’m doing in school, I’m going to be able to skip my first year of trade school,” says Megan Taylor, 18, a senior at Dulaney High School in Timonium. “I’m also getting paid to work throughout my senior year, so I’m already financially profiting from that.”
Taylor is working with a company called Advanced Indoor Resources, which does HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) in commercial buildings, and is also taking classes for HVAC along with spending class hours in the shop at school.
She says that her school has around 100 students within various course levels in Career Technical Education programs such as her apprenticeship, with many of them in her HVAC classes.
She adds that the program has given her a major head start on her career ahead of her graduation in a couple of months, and has helped bring her mother around to her decision not to go to college despite some initial skepticism.
“It took educating her and making sure she fully understood what the trades were,” Taylor says. “[That] was when she fully supported me and started understanding that this is an option that should be more accessible to all people, and that it can really be a great pathway.”
MAC is still looking to expand its efforts to reach the lofty goal of 45% by 2030 set by state legislation, but students like Taylor show how apprenticeship programs can work for students across Maryland.
