A Trade School called, Appropriately Enough, The Apprentice School [CBD]

Founded in 1919 at Newport News Shipbuilding, The Apprentice School does something very simple; it teaches people how to build warships, while giving them the equivalent of a college education. One little difference -- the graduates aren't saddled with huge debt, and have guaranteed jobs to boot. And those jobs aren't making cute designs in coffee foam...they actually know how to build things.

Even the NY Times has some nice things to say.....

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With its gleaming classrooms, sports teams and even a pep squad, the Apprentice School that serves the enormous Navy shipyard here bears little resemblance to a traditional vocational education program.

And that is exactly the point. While the cheerleaders may double as trainee pipe fitters, electricians and insulators, on weekends they're no different from college students anywhere as they shout for the Apprentice School Builders on the sidelines.

But instead of accumulating tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, Apprentice School students are paid an annual salary of $54,000 by the final year of the four-year program, and upon graduation are guaranteed a job with Huntington Ingalls Industries, the military contractor that owns Newport News Shipbuilding.

My plumber is an intelligent, college-educated man who has a booming business that does not include 4:00am drain-snaking. For that you call Roto-Rooter. He is at his kids' Little League games, and I don't recall ever seeing his truck on the road during weekends.

He lamented to me recently that he cannot find a young kid to learn his trade. Nobody wants to be a plumber making $250k, when they could be web designers making $35k!

posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 AM

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