TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Aspiring plumbers, electricians and other trade workers will get a chance to advance their skills under a new apprenticeship program launched in Tuscaloosa.
The program by the nonprofit group Skilled Trades of West Alabama will hold an orientation session Monday for its first class of about 70 trainees, the Tuscaloosa News reported.
The goal is to help people working as helpers in the electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning and alarm trades become experts in those fields, boosting their wages and increasing the supply of skilled labor for local contractors.
“This is something that has been needed for a long time,” said Mark White, program director. “These guys that get hired into the trades as helpers, that’s pretty much all they will ever be until they get the education they need to progress.”
Six Tuscaloosa companies are partnering in the venture, according to the Tuscaloosa News. The trainees will attend classes two nights a week at a cost of $10 per week.
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