West Virginia University recently welcomed its first class of apprentices to full-time skilled trade positions as part of the Universitys pilot Apprenticeship Program, a joint effort of Facilities Management and the Division of Human Resources.

Of the eightstudents,several are recent high school graduates, others are military veterans and technical school graduates, and one is a semi-professional football player. Two of the apprentices are women.

This is the first such program of its kind at a higher education institution in West Virginia and one of only a handful in the country, said Margaret Phillips, vice president for Human Resources.

The program was developed to build and retain quality staff in niche areas such as electrical, plumbing, carpentry, the general trades, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning,said Randy Hudak, director of Facilities Management.It combines hundreds of hours of on-the-job training with classroom instruction and mentoring,he said.

Once accepted into the program, apprentices learn their trade over a four-year period. As that skill set and knowledge increases each year, so does the pay grade. Plans call for a new apprenticeship class to be added each year.

The better the quality of our workforce, the better the level of our customer service to the University,Hudak added.This program will allow us to develop our own specialized employees who are familiar with University operations, processes and people.

WVU Director of Employment Services Trisha Gyurke said the program is helping meet the growing need for a skilled trade workforce as many current employees reach retirement age in the coming years.

The Division of Human Resources devoted a significant amount of time to this program,Gyurke said.I believe we have one of the premier programs for recruiting and selecting a skilled trade workforce tailored to meet the needs of our University environment.

The program has been certified by the Department of Labor Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, she noted.

Not only are the apprentices full-time, benefits eligible employees of the University with health and life insurance, holidays, vacation and retirement, Gyurke said, but they will be certified as skilled trade workers at the completion of the program.

Additionally, University officials are working to apply standardized credit from the program toward an associates and/or bachelors degree.

This program represents a tremendous opportunity for these apprentices to gain experience, professional certification, a college educationand a rewarding career,she said.

For Cayla Hefner the opportunity represents the beginning of a new career.

Im excited and happy to be working for the University,Hefner said.This gives me an opportunity to learn about something I like to do and want to make my careerand get paid for it. With the benefits and opportunities here, I plan to stay at WVU for a long time.

Each member of the apprentice class is assigned a mentor who will help train and guide them through the length of the program. The mentors are experienced employees from Facilities Management that have specialized knowledge and have participated in special training to help them lead.

The largest part of my responsibilities is to teach the trade skills that I know and be there to support my apprentice,said Todd Wintermoyer, trades specialist.The training requirements are well mapped out. Our primary responsibility is to help the apprentices learn the functions of our job and ensure they are receiving the hours they need for each area.

Wintermoyer said being selected as a mentor is an honor, and he is proud to be associated with the program.

I have 15 years of experience, but I can still remember the guys that helped me learn when I started,he said.Its nice to be able to train new people on the work that I do and give back what I learned. I feel lucky to be a part of the program.

In addition to Hefner of Fairmont, the inaugural apprentice class includes: Casey Auvil of Clarksburg; Donald Demastes of Granville; Garry Smith or Rivesville, David Smith of Waynesburg, Pa. and Andrew Morris, Thomas Palmer and Benjamin Spransy all of Morgantown.

For more information about the program visit:http://www.hr.wvu.edu/apprentice.