Former Apprentice, Now Association President, Vouches for Registered Apprenticeship’s Value

Date Posted: November 16, 2019

Posted In: Discussion, Ideas, Organizations, Workforce,

by Len Toenjes, president, Associated General Contractors of Missouri

In many ways, descriptions of the word “apprenticeship” are akin to the fable of blind men describing an elephant. Each person has a different perspective based on which portion of the subject they touch or experience.

For those unaware, it’s National Apprenticeship Week. And as someone who entered an apprenticeship program as a 19-year-old, worked as an apprentice for four years, graduated from an apprenticeship program, served as the director of an apprenticeship program for over 10 years and has had an association professional career for the past 20-plus years, I have the experience to put the whole animal into perspective.

Entrance into and graduation from an apprenticeship program — one that is fully recognized and registered by the U.S. Department of Labor — is every bit as honorable, rigorous and deserving of respect as admittance to and graduation from any four-year institution of higher education. The combination of cognitive ability and physical prowess required to graduate from an apprenticeship program is unique and demands a special skillset. The design for every U.S. Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship program is spelled out clearly in the Code of Federal Regulations. Each apprenticeship program must adhere to strict requirements for governance, reporting, classroom education, performance measures, advancement, skills, and hands-on application of those skills over a defined period of time.

Apprenticeship requires a structure. Each U.S. Department of Labor-registered program must, among a host of other things, clearly define topics, times and requirements for completion. These requirements have been in place for many years and are the foundation upon which thousands of apprenticeship programs have been built.

Apprenticeship requires cognitive, classroom training. Information about various trade practices along with the requisite tools, safety practices and technical reading materials are delivered by professional instructors with in-the-field knowledge and experience. This training is delivered over the period of several years, interspersed with practical application time at job sites.

Apprenticeship requires physical application of the cognitive lessons learned. In the construction field, where I completed my apprenticeship, whether one is building a bridge, setting masonry for a wall, welding the structural steel columns and beams for a high-rise building, or placing and fastening the framing for an apartment building, there are both cognitive and physical skills that need to be applied properly and safely. They are interdependent in the apprenticeship system.

I firmly believe the training I received through the apprenticeship system gave me the skills to start on the road to success. For National Apprenticeship Week, it’s important to recognize this path as equally valuable an experience as seeking a bachelor’s degree. Is college bad? No. Is apprenticeship bad? No. Both are great ways to start a young person on a lifelong career path. Someday, I hope that everyone in the United States comes to this realization — that these two career paths deserve the same societal recognition. I work to be living proof of this, as do many other apprenticeship graduates.

Speaking as someone who has seen and touched the “apprenticeship” elephant from every angle, it is certainly a great educational and training system for those who choose it.