November is apprenticeship month as NYS promotes job opportunities

November marks the third year in a row of New York State's apprenticeship month "that prepares residents for future job options," Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced.

Registered apprenticeship programs are overseen by the state Department of Labor and provide New York’s economy with a "highly effective workforce development model," state officials said.

"New York State’s apprenticeship programs are a powerful pathway to success — offering New Yorkers the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, earn a paycheck, and build a career," Hochul said in a statement last Thursday.

Apprenticeships provide workers with the chance to be paid while they learn the skills necessary to pursue a trade or work in manufacturing, advocates said.

"We reaffirm our commitment to empowering the next generation with the skills they need to thrive in the jobs of tomorrow," Hochul's statement said.

As part of the promotion of apprenticeship month, state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon and state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa appeared in an online video touting the opportunities available to New Yorkers who participate in one of the more than 900 apprenticeship programs statewide. 

More than 17,000 New Yorkers actively participate in an apprenticeship program throughout the state, according to the governor’s office.

Erica Rechner, director of Opportunities Long Island, a pre-apprenticeship program aimed at creating pathways for underserved communities to find work as apprentices in unionized building trades, said apprenticeships can change lives.

"The goal of our program is to help individuals who traditionally wouldn’t be able to access these opportunities," Rechner said. Opportunities Long Island selects 20 to 25 students each year to participate in an intensive eight-week program that prepares them to join a trade union as an apprentice.

The program, which is currently accepting applicants through December, receives about 150 applications each year. Throughout the two-month program, selected students are given safety and tool training, as well as information on how union apprenticeships work.

The last five weeks of the program are dedicated to introducing participants to a variety of different trade training centers, Rechner said. Upon completion, participants are connected with a trade union to start as an apprentice.

"An apprenticeship program can really change people’s life," Rechner said. "It can give them access to the middle class, and most importantly, a skill that nobody can take away from them."

For more information about apprenticeships and state resources to help connect New Yorkers with programs, visit the labor department's apprenticeship announcements page online.