Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Behind the Scenes at WECA's National Apprenticeship Week 2024 Open Houses in Sacramento, Fresno, San Diego, and Phoenix

Also, at the Apprenticeship Utah Summit

And that's a wrap on National Apprenticeship Week 2024! Our Open Houses in celebration of National Apprenticeship Week 2024 were incredibly successful thanks to the hard work and dedication of WECA staff, support from our community partners, and engagement from attendees exploring future careers in the electrical industry.

San Diego Open House

WECA held its first Open House on November 19th at our San Diego Training Facility. There, instructors led by Don Williams engaged attendees in discussions about apprenticeship and conducted hands-on demonstrations of labs that apprentices encounter and complete during their apprenticeship program.





Sacramento Open House

Our second Open House was held on November 20th at our Sacramento/Rancho Cordova Training Facility. This Open House was hosted by Diane Trotter, Workforce Development Supervisor, and James Hall, Randy Rivera, Bob Boling, and John Arias, Apprenticeship instructors. Hershel Baser, Jr., an Apprenticeship Consultant with the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards, also attended and spoke about how WECA is "one of the best apprenticeship programs out there."

According to Diane, "Our event was standing-room-only and full of participants that asked great questions. There were lots of great moments, but the two I would highlight were the demonstrations that our instructors were able to provide and having third-year apprentices speak. James and Randy did a great job getting and keeping the audience engaged, and showed some great examples of the types of activities we teach at WECA. We were also able to have third-year apprentices Cristian Gonzalez and Kevin Mendez speak. They both described their path to becoming an apprentice at WECA, and answered questions from the room. This is always a big hit with attendees, getting firsthand knowledge of what it is to be an apprentice is very valuable."











Fresno Open House

Our third and fourth Open Houses were held on the same day -- November 21st -- at our Fresno Training Facility and our Phoenix Training Facility, respectively. Rex Hime, Government Relations Director, and George Leach and Jaron Stroud, Apprenticeship instructors, hosted the Fresno Open House. We were very gratified to have so many community partners attend our Fresno Open House. We would like to thank Will Oliver (President/CEO of the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation), Vong Mouanoutoua (Clovis City Councilmember), Camaleh Saleh (Student Assistant for the Maddy Institute), Greg Newman (President/CEO of the Clovis Chamber of Commerce), Guadalupe Cruz (Assistant Director of the Maddy Institute), Shannon Major (Field Representative for the office of Senator Shannon Grove), Alina Alonzo (Maddy Institute intern for the office of Senator Shannon Grove), Gena Behrens (Chief Operating Officer of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce), Victoria Mosby (Research Analyst for the Fresno Chamber of Commerce), and Clint Olivier (President/CEO of the Central Valley Business Federation) for attending and supporting workforce development in the Central Valley.

Rex says, "I am extremely grateful for the diverse group of Central Valley leaders that joined us on Thursday for WECA's Fresno National Apprenticeship Week event. Community involvement plays a crucial role in creating diverse pathways to success, especially through apprenticeship, by providing individuals with hands-on skills, mentorship, and opportunities to thrive in high-demand careers, and ultimately fostering economic growth and long-term stability for all."







Phoenix Open House

Meanwhile, our Phoenix Open House was hosted by Heath Anderson, Arizona's Outreach and Workforce Development Specialist, and Keith Smart, Apprenticeship Manager and instructor. Many Phoenix community partners also attended this Open House, such as Stacey Travers (Arizona State Representative), Tom Cole (Director of the Arizona Registrar of Contractors), Joann Bueno (Director of the Arizona Office of Apprenticeship), and Shelley Seitz (Interim Director of the Center for Workforce Development for Grand Canyon University).

Heath shared his appreciation for the Phoenix business and workforce development communities attending the Open House, stating that "We appreciate the support of our community partners in teaming up with us on workforce development in Arizona."







Apprenticeship Utah Summit

Last, but not least, WECA celebrated National Apprenticeship Week in Utah by attending the 2024 Apprenticeship Utah Summit on November 19th at the Salt Mine Productive Workspace in Sandy, UT. Christine Hall, WECA Chief Operations Officer, was a panelist at the summit and shared ideas, information, and resources with attendees on expanding Apprenticeship in Utah. At the event, Christine was also excited to support Pat Miller, the State Director for the Utah Department of Labor, as she received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to apprenticeship in Utah.

Thank you, everyone, for your continued support of and interest in National Apprenticeship Week! It is always gratifying to promote the benefits of apprenticeship within our communities and inspire future generations of electricians and low voltage technicians to pursue apprenticeship with WECA.