In today’s tight labor market, the demand for talent is at an all-time high. Manufacturing and skilled trades roles have been especially hard to fill, leaving many employers scrambling to fill customer orders, often in critical areas such as healthcare, telecommunications, and aerospace.  Proactively building a pipeline to fill these critical workforce gaps is essential.

The Fort Zumwalt School District's award-winning trades careers apprenticeship program does just that by exposing students to skilled trades careers and providing paid, on-the-job training with eight local manufacturing partners.  Students who complete the program also receive 45 credit hours towards a Skilled Trades Associate of Arts degree from St. Charles Community College.

The Department of Labor-certified program is one of the largest high school apprenticeship programs in the country, with offerings including welding, precision manufacturing, millwork and carpentry, and engineering and drafting.

Most apprenticeship programs are run out of tech schools, as many high schools have dropped the engineering and industrial technology courses that are an important steppingstone to preparing students for trades careers.  Those classes are still offered in the Fort Zumwalt School District, opening the door for more advanced trades career  experiences for students.