Apprenticeship Night will be held at the Napavine High School library at 6 p.m. on March 25.
The high school is located at 404 Fourth Ave. NE, Napavine.
This event is open to all Lewis County students and parents who might be interested in apprenticeships, although it’s aimed toward students in 10th or 11th grade this year.
The evening will start with general information regarding apprenticeships and specifically those that students can participate in while in high school, according to a news release put out by David Rutherford, Napavine’s career and technical education director.
The event will then break out into three classrooms to have more specific information on manufacturing youth apprenticeships, water youth pre-apprenticeships and operating engineers apprenticeships.
The manufacturing apprenticeship is a 2,000-hour paid experience in a local manufacturing company, with students also receiving 150 hours of college classes in print reading, maintenance welding and hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Napavine has several students currently in this program provided by AJAC Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeships with multiple programs statewide all as a registered LNI apprentice. A representative from AJAC will be there to answer questions.
The water pre-apprenticeship is taking place this year with programs starting in Napavine, Onalaska, Centralia, Winlock and Toledo. This is also a paid experience over the summer and has a preparation program that leads to a high demand career with good wages.
Students will participate in classes and experiences through Evergreen Rural Water of Washington toward training and certification in water distribution and wastewater treatment. Representatives from Evergreen Rural Water of Washington will be there to answer questions.
Operating engineers will be on hand to discuss careers operating heavy equipment and an apprenticeship program. Students will be given information on the application process and how to set themselves up for entering this high-wage career path. Representatives from the International Union of Operating Engineers will be on hand.
Students and parents who are interested in these opportunities are encouraged to attend interviews into programs taking place soon for this year’s 11th graders to begin work this summer.
For more information, contact Rutherford at drutherford@napavineschools.org or 360-262-3301.
