Governor Gregoire Announces �Running Start for the Trades� Grants for 14 Washington School Districts

For Immediate Release: November 16, 2007

OLYMPIA � Governor Chris Gregoire today announced 14 Washington school districts have been awarded a total of $350,000 to expand and encourage pre apprenticeship programs at the high-school level.

�These grants provide opportunities for high-school students to jump-start into a good-paying career,� said Governor Gregoire. �There�s a huge demand for talented young people in the building trades. Our state has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of active apprentices in the last year, so we know our efforts are working. We can build a strong economic future for Washington families by encouraging and supporting young people who want to pursue careers in the building trades.�

This is the second year that the Legislature has allocated money for pre-apprenticeship opportunities. The program began last year as part of Governor Gregoire�s proposal to expand apprenticeship opportunities for high-school students.

In these �Running Start for the Trades� programs, high schools work closely with local apprenticeship programs to prepare students to enter apprenticeships immediately after graduation. The grants will be used to create opportunities, as well as to encourage and support students, to ensure they have the job skills and the academic prerequisites to succeed in an apprenticeship program.

Schools receiving the $40,000, two-year Apprenticeship Pilot grants are:

• Whatcom Tech Prep Consortium, Bellingham
  
• Edmonds School District
  
• Kennewick School District
  
• New Market Skills Center, Tumwater

Schools receiving the $19,000, two-year Apprenticeship Incentive grants are:

• Marysville School District
  
• Omak School District
  
• Trout Lake School District
  
• Kelso School District
  
• Mount Adams School District, White Swan
  
• Lynden School District
  
• Selkirk School District, Metaline Falls
  
• Evergreen School District, Vancouver
  
• SeaTac Occupational Skills Center
  
• Seattle Public Schools

Apprenticeship is a formalized employer and industry sponsored skills training program that combines structured, supervised on-the-job training with related classroom instruction. Apprentices earn while they learn, their pay scale goes up as they gain experience and, when they graduate, they become a journey-level professional in a specific field. According to a 2006 study published by the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, the average annual salary for an apprenticeship graduate is $52,000.

Statewide, there are 250 different apprenticeship training program, and 14,500 active registered apprentices. Typically, students must successfully complete pre-apprenticeship coursework, including math and science, to be accepted into an apprenticeship program.

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