Apprenticeship In The Service Trades
Most formal apprenticeship programs neglect service work. In my last article I described traditional apprenticeship programs established by contractors, unions and nonunion companies for the construction trades. Some of the plumbers, electricians and HVAC technicians who fix and maintain those systems in your home
What Is Apprenticeship?
It combines classroom instruction with hands-on work. Apprenticeship dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe as a way for master craftsmen to pass on their knowledge and techniques to younger generations. The craftsman would employ one or more young people at minimal wages
Interns Vs. Apprentices
Working for free is unheard of in the trades. You may have thought that the Emancipation Proclamation did away with slave labor in this country, but it persists in many office buildings around the country. That’s where thousands of college students spend their summers
Can you afford college and a home?
Student loan payments quash home ownership Homeownership among young Americans has hit the lowest level on record, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s probably not a coincidence that this coincides with burgeoning student debt. College graduates with student loans owe an average of
Academic vs. vocational education
A well-rounded person needs both. I feel blessed to have graduated (class of 1965) from one of the best public high schools in the country — Lane Technical in Chicago. Then as now, Lane Tech ranked among national leaders in graduation and college admission
You can tattoo yourself out of a job
Every generation freaks out its parents! Back in the Roaring Twenties most older folks couldn’t understand their children’s fascination with a new style of music known as jazz – “the devil’s music,” as it was widely called. Those children grew up to be just
Trade workers must be drug free
Legal or not, you’ll have to choose between a career and getting high. We live in a society in which use of marijuana and other illegal drugs is widespread. One recent survey showed that about one out of 11 Americans uses illicit drugs regularly.
Myth #5 about trade work: it’s for males only
Service firms in particular clamor for female technicians. Okay, this myth is admittedly hard to refute. Most estimates peg females as only about 2% to 2.5% of all skilled trade workers. That’s probably doubled since the rise of feminism in the 1960s, but progress
Myth #4 about trade workers: they’re always getting laid off
Job security is higher for skilled trade workers than most other occupations. This myth originates in the fact that construction work is highly cyclical. While it’s true that when work slows down many construction workers get let go, this deserves a closer look. In