FRCC Apprenticeship Program to Be Recognized During Governor Parson's State of the State Address
The Four Rivers Career Center’s Apprenticeship Program has been selected to be recognized by Missouri Governor Mike Parson during his State of the State Address on Wednesday, January 24, at the State Capitol in Jefferson City.
A group of students and staff involved with the apprenticeship program at FRCC will be on hand as special guests of Governor Parson and will be recognized during his address.
Representing FRCC at the event will be Director Philip King, Apprenticeship Coordinator Jeanne Miller Wood, School District of Washington Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Kephart, and student Isaac Lough.
Lough is a Washington High School student in the Engineering program at Four Rivers Career Center. He is doing his apprenticeship with Bugeye Technologies in Union as an engineer.
The participation of the FRCC students and staff at the event will help represent the Governor’s top priorities, including Apprentices, and showcase the very best of Missouri.
“To be selected is a big honor for our school district, the Career Center, our apprenticeship program, and our community. It shows the good work that Jeanne has been doing with our program. If we don’t have the businesses that are willing to take apprenticeships, then we don’t have an apprenticeship program,” King said. “A big reason why our apprenticeship program has been successful is because we have an apprenticeship coordinator. Jeanne has done a great job building relationships with businesses in our community. Dr. Kephart’s work with Connect Washington has helped build our connection with the community and expand our apprenticeship program.”
“It’s a great honor for the Career Center and our apprenticeship program,” Miller Wood said. “Our instructors have encouraged students to develop their workforce passions in their chosen fields. The success of our apprenticeship program would not be possible without our instructors, our students, and our community working together to help build the program to where it is today.”
Apprenticeship is an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally-recognized credential.
Workers benefit from apprenticeships by receiving a skills-based education that prepares them for good-paying jobs. Apprenticeship programs help employers recruit, build, and retain a highly-skilled workforce.
FRCC is setting high standards of qualifications for high school students to qualify through aptitude, academic performance, and work ethic. This merit-based job placement utilizes the top performing students for on the job training, using an earn-while-you-learn model with local employers in high demand.
“The apprenticeship program allows our students to have real-world work experience, working on real-world projects, for up to four days a week,” King said. “It’s a great way for our students to build their resumes and it provides a unique opportunity for them to prepare for their post high school careers.”