b'WHEN APPRENTICESHIP HAD TO GO ONLINE, The (COVID-19) situation was constantly changing,WECA WAS READY so as it developed, we had to be ready at amoments notice to pull the trigger on transitioningour classes to online learning, said Tom Thompson,WECA curriculum development manager. Our teamhad already been working on instituting a LearningManagement System (LMS) for our apprenticeshipprograms, but our target date for completion wasSeptember. Still, we were able to shift to onlinelearning on the LMS in a matter of days. Thetransition was so smooth that I started to becomesuspicious that we were missing something, but weweren\'t. My team and colleagues always impress me,but this situation has shone light on their abilitiesand commitment to our apprentices. This is adifficult time for everyone, but it has also been ablessing to watch everyone come together for ashared purpose." WECA knew the importance of continuing our apprentices\'educationsuninterrupted. We\'ve delivered online education WECAs apprenticeship instructors, a key part of thesince 2007, but our apprenticeship programs were always success of WECAs quick pivot to onlineclassroom-based. By leveraging our expertise in learning apprenticeship class delivery, also echoed similartechnologies, we were able to make an immediate pivot to sentiments. Low voltage apprenticeship instructoronline apprenticeship when the pandemic hit.Neil Pesarillo said, "I\'m really proud of howadaptable our apprentices were to the sudden shiftWe rapidly converted hands-on, in-person labs to alternate in how they\'re receiving this semester of theironline activities. Instructors found new ways to engage their education. I think it speaks to their versatility asstudents online, and we made sure that learning objectives students and employees, and speaks to howwere still achieved. seriously everyone in the industry is taking safetyand social distancing orders. And Im also pleasedWe were online for our apprentices, no matter what. with how the online classes Ive taught so far haveTogether, we got through distance learning, one successful goneits very similar to being in the classroom sinceapprentice at a time. weve already been using tools like SmartBoards andcomputer-based quizzing and grading, whichIn fact, our transition to delivering apprenticeship program translate well to online delivery. education online was so successful that the CaliforniaDivision of Apprenticeship Standards featured our guest Terry Seabury, executive director and CEO of WECA,article (written by Michelle Gilkey, Director of Marketing, puts into words the positive outlook the WECA teamLearning, and Product) "Smooth Transition to an Online keeps at its forefront. We believe that the monthsLearning Model for Electrical Apprenticeship", in their ahead will bring unprecedented opportunities forspring/summer 2020 quarterly publication! Read below:adaption and innovation to our industry, and that wewill all emerge stronger for it. When the COVID-19 outbreak hit and Californians were toldto stay at home, Western Electrical Contractors Association,Inc. (WECA) found itself well positioned to transition itselectrical and low voltage apprenticeship classes online,quickly and appropriately. Before these unprecedented events, WECAs apprenticeshiptraining board of trustees had the vision to ask us to expandour usage of learning technologies for our apprenticeshipprogram, as well as increase the flexibility of our deliverymodel. This head start enabled us to rapidly convert ouronsite apprenticeship classes to online delivery wheneverything began escalating so quickly in early-mid March. Italso helped enormously that WECA has been deliveringonline education for its other programs since 2007. Ouradministrative and instructional teams had nearly 15 years ofexperience on which to draw.'