Recently, apprenticeship programs are getting a lot of attention because they are both traditional and innovative, are a key strategy to address our workforce challenges, and are appealing to students and young adults.

Today’s apprenticeship programs are not my father’s apprenticeships. They involve learning new technologies and skills, are in very high-demand fields and are no longer only for high school students. In fact, the average age of a Maine apprentice is 29.

Many apprenticeships are in the traditional trades — like construction, welding, auto mechanics and auto body. Others are in HVAC, lab sciences, finance, health care, aquaculture and culinary arts. These are careers for today and for the future.

A registered apprentice is considered an employee. Apprentices are paid competitively and progressively while they learn and are assigned a workplace mentor to teach and support them. The length of the program depends on the occupation. At the end of the program, apprentices have learned highly employable skills, earned industry-recognized credentials and have built relationships with professionals in their field. Businesses have a new pool of qualified workers.

The apprenticeship registration process can be cumbersome for busy employers who must navigate requirements set by state standards. Given this, Educate Maine is now stepping in as an intermediary to offer employers the technical assistance needed to create, implement and oversee registered apprenticeships.

Recently Gov. Janet Mills designated $12.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for apprenticeship programming, and those funds are being supplemented by additional grants. The new funding is a substantial increase for a program that traditionally received less than $500,000 annually. This is the start of the kind of resources needed to scale up this important work.

Such increases in funding and in appreciation that apprenticeships are a powerful means for providing experience and mastery of needed skills are yielding results. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of apprentices rose 64% between 2012 and 2021. The Maine Apprenticeship Program registered more than 850 apprentices this year, up from 460 last year. Continued growth is likely due to current workplace shortages and massive training needs.

With this new funding and infrastructure improvements, we are seeing many new and innovative apprenticeships. A few examples include technicians at aquaculture farms along our coast, auto techs at multiple dealerships statewide, Maine’s first payroll specialist registered apprenticeship program in Bangor, computer technicians, CDL-B drivers, passive house builders, robotic CCTV pipe inspectors, HVAC technicians, and laboratory animal caretakers.

Such growth is also spurring conversations about expanding our high school career and technical education, often the entry point into apprenticeship programs, beyond its current offerings. A few CTE schools have become intermediary sponsors for apprenticeship program development, and more are beginning to work with Educate Maine and other organizations to certify their existing two-year programs as pre-apprenticeships directly tied to local registered apprenticeship opportunities.

Furthermore, many schools are now thinking about, and beginning to implement, CTE offerings into earlier grades, including middle school. Maine policymakers are also considering a variety of ways to expand CTE offerings based on the rise of student interest and workforce needs.

Registered apprenticeships are leveling the playing field and opening the talent pool to individuals who previously might not have been hired. They are impactful all across Maine but particularly in our rural areas. Apprenticeships are also a solid career start for many new Mainers who bring with them strong skills already. All of this is giving employers the opportunity to hire for aptitude and potential, and to provide training specific to each workplace yet transferable across industry sectors.

These opportunities cannot come soon enough. Maine received a “most severe” rating on the U. S. Chamber of Commerce’s Worker Shortage Index, with only 42 available workers for every 100 open jobs.

Apprenticeships are a vital element in helping Maine achieve its educational attainment goal that 60% of adults have a credential of value by 2025. We are close to achieving this 10-year benchmark, and with the growth and energy in Maine’s expanded apprenticeship programs, I am confident Maine will do so.

The growth in apprenticeships is a winning formula for our workers, our employers and our economy. Educate Maine is proud to be part of it.

Jason Judd of Lewiston is executive director of Educate Maine.

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