Education is crucial in any technical field, and so is experience. Yet in the traditional educational model it is increasingly rare to find technical curriculum that supports the trades and hands-on opportunities are very basic at best. When young adults leave school unprepared to work in professional trades it is difficult for them to find work. When they are hired the company is faced with the burden of training novices and integrating them safely into operations.

In recognition of the need for trained craftsmen, Blum Inc., a leading manufacturer of functional hardware, located in Stanley, NC, has taken a pro-active approach. In 1995 Blum, in conjunction with the Daetwyler Corporation of Huntersville, NC, developed the Apprenticeship 2000 program. This innovative approach offers high-school seniors a technical education including college credentials and on-the-job training. After four years students who complete the program are skilled CNC machinists, tool-and-die makers, injection molding specialists, and machine and electronics technicians. They are also guaranteed a job in their selected career field.

Apprenticeship 2000 is unique in the sense that a consortium of companies, as well as local areas school systems, supports the program.

Curriculum

Each year information brochures introducing the program and its areas of specialty are distributed in area high schools. The Apprenticeship 2000 program is an 8000-hour program that spans 4 years of training. Upon graduation students earn an AAS (Associates in Applied Science) degree in Manufacturing Technology and a Journeyman’s Certificate from the state of North Carolina.

A typical course of study for students working with Blum begins in the senior year of high school when students spend four school hours a week studying technical curriculum and four hours inside a partnership company. After high school graduation, students transition from part time to full time apprentices. At this point each apprentice spends four days training inside the partnership company as a full time employee, as well as one day and one evening class per week at Central Piedmont Community College. At Blum, students are paid to attend day classes as if it were a normal workday, which encourages regular attendance. By the end of the program participants experience four years of company-related training and earn 1600 hours of college credit.

Proof and Performance

Throughout the program, Blum apprentices are supervised by training instructors that monitor progress and ensure safety. Once per month each participant is evaluated in the following areas: Job Knowledge, Quality, Effi ciency, Dependability, Initiative, Adaptability, Team Ability, Safety and Punctuality. Each topic is given a score and then rated. Every six months these scores are combined with the student’s GPA at Central Piedmont College. As students gain experience and knowledge their pay rate increases, giving students a direct role in their success.

Blum feels very strongly that helping young people in the community is a benefi t not only for the company’s success, but for the individual as well. By taking an active role in improving technical training in the private sector, and providing schools as much support as possible, Blum is able to train its own workforce to fi t its technical needs, while at the same time contributing to the economic health of the community. And with an 80% retention rate for Blum apprentices, who are never asked to sign or commit, it is clear that participants fi nd value in the program as well.