HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs and Hanceville Mayor Kenneth Nail each signed proclamations this week, recognizing Wallace State Community College and the fifth annual National Apprenticeship Week, which is Nov. 11-15.
Wallace State students Alan Castro and Hunter Byrams are apprentices at Reliance Worldwide Corporation in Cullman and joined Jacobs at Cullman City Hall for the signing.
Wallace State student and Met-South apprentice Hunter Whitehead joined Nail at Hanceville City Hall.
Wallace State has apprenticeship partnerships with multiple industries within the Cullman County area.
An apprenticeship is an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction, and a portable credential.
According to the Department of Labor, during the 2016 fiscal year, there were 500,000 active apprentices in more than 21,000 registered apprenticeship programs.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s Success Plus Initiative aims to add 500,000 credentialed employees to Alabama’s workforce by 2025 and establishing more apprenticeships is a component of that plan.
“National Apprenticeship Week is another opportunity for us to celebrate not only our apprentices and students, but our relationships with those businesses who are sponsoring our apprentices. We’re always in the business of celebrating those partnerships. A business finds the individual it wants to invest time and money into and grows them into a valuable asset for that company,” said Dr. Jimmy Hodges, Wallace State’s Dean of Applied Technologies.
For more information about National Apprenticeship Week, visit www.apprenticeship.gov/national-apprenticeship-week.
For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.
