Spotlight on apprenticeships: Career pathways available outside of the classroom

As families gather around holiday tables this week, a likely topic of conversation for upcoming high school graduates will be what's next?

College is not for everybody, but there are alternate career pathway options in Cook County in rewarding fields.

Apprenticeships provide paid work experience and learning, outside of the traditional school setting.

At the Black Fire Brigade, "Lieutenant Q" is training the next generation of first responders.

"Since the inception of it, we’ve put over 800 kids through this program," said Quention Curtis, better known as "Q."

Curtis, a retired fire lieutenant, founded the nonprofit in 2018.

"We train them as EMTs, and from that point on, they have the option to go through paramedic school, to go through firefighter school, to go through the police academy. Our main focus is life safety," said Curtis. "Them coming into this apprentice program, and getting all the skills they need, they’re immediately going to work."

There are 21,266 active apprentices in Illinois, according to Apprenticeship Illinois.

There are benefits for employers, too, including tax credits. The goal is to reduce turnover and create a pipeline of skilled workers.

"Retention is a real issue in the industry," said Robert Johnson, the director of civic engagement at BOMA Chicago.

This is the first year the trade association for commercial office real estate hired apprentices.

"We have three apprentices," said Johnson. "They come in the program as tenant services representatives, which is generally the entry level position in the commercial real estate industry."

BOMA partnered with City Colleges of Chicago to launch the program. Their apprentices are working toward associate degrees.

"By putting that investment in that individual, in that apprentice, over time, you have someone that is both, on the apprentice side, invested in the industry, and on the employer side, trained and ready to hit the ground running on day one," Johnson said.

Both the Black Fire Brigade and BOMA Chicago work with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (The Partnership), an umbrella organization that provides funding to community-based organizations to provide workforce services, including apprenticeships.

"It really speaks to retention. Once an employee starts an apprenticeship, they figure out if this is something they really want to do. If it is, they develop a passion around it, and it leads to a career path," said the CEO of The Partnership. "I think people would be surprised how many opportunities are out there."

Common industries that have integrated apprenticeships into their workforce development include manufacturing, construction and healthcare. Opportunities also exist in hospitality, technology and financial services.

Apprentices work a paid job while also engaging in classroom learning. At the end of the program, they earn a nationally-recognized industry certification.

At the Black Fire Brigade, recruits also earn degrees.

"As you go through the program, you end up with your associate degree, because everything we do is college accredited, but you’re not sitting in that formal college getting that degree," said Curtis.