Apprenticeship Program Gives High School Students a Head Start in the Working World

Today's job market is changing rapidly, and whether the field is health care, advanced manufacturing or information technology, there are high paying jobs for trained workers with a two-year associate’s degree from one of South Carolina's technical colleges. The Youth Apprenticeship Program at the state’s tech colleges acts as a "middleman" between businesses needing trained workers and students looking for meaningful careers. But not just college students. In Charleston, the program works with Trident Technical College and area high schools to train high school students who take tech college courses and work for area industries. When they graduate, they have a year's worth of tech college credits already under their belts, as well as experience that can land them good jobs, sometimes with the businesses they apprenticed for.