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A group of Caroline County Public School students signed as apprentices with area businesses and begin their “get paid to learn” career paths.
Brallen Phelps signed with RH Perkinson Inc. Plumbing & Trenching, located in Chester.
Katrina Benges signed with Mid Shore Early Learning Center in Easton.
Kailey Masten and Vaughn Jones each signed with Crystal Steel Fabrication Inc in Federalsburg.
In the family
Brallen Phelps joins his brother in working for RH Perkinson Inc. He actually started last summer, so it was an easy sell to the company owner, Ron Schock, to sign Phelps as a Youth Apprentice.
The company does all aspects of plumbing and excavating for residential and commercial clients. Schock said that Phelps, “already been in a crawl, and he’s already had a shovel in his hand.”
Phelps learned about the business from a great uncle during a conversation at a family birthday party. He started work, and a chance conversation with Eric Cook, Coordinator of Career Readiness with Caroline County Public Schools, led to formalizing the working arrangement through a Youth Apprenticeship.
Schock said that he went to Vo-tech, so he appreciates the career-readiness path students are offered, and he seems quite pleased that Phelps is the latest addition to his crew.
Career AND Education Advancement
Katrina Benges is on a path that could lead to a career and advanced degrees in early childhood education doing something that she loves.
It all started because the North Caroline High School junior was looking for a part-time job.
Following in her mother Kristen Chouinard’s footsteps, Benges knew that she wanted to work in early childhood education. Her search for part time work led her to Charlene Copper-Pierce, director of Mid Shore Early Learning Center. And it seems Benges made quite an impression.
“I wish all teens had it as together as Katrina,” Copper-Pierce said during the apprenticeship signing ceremony.
Benges is working as a fully Register Apprentice, which according to CCPS’ Cook, “upon completion of the program, (Benges) Katrina will earn her Center Based Birth to Five Child Development Associates. This industry recognized credential signifies that an educator is a nationally recognized professional qualified to care for and educate children from birth to age five in a center-based setting.”
As a junior in high school, she is on her a solid educational and career track “through a combination of dual enrollment and Apprenticeship Related Instruction, (Benges) will graduate high school with nearly 40 of the 60 credits required for an Early Childhood Development A.A.S. Degree at zero cost to her.”
The possibilities for Benges to continue moving up in her career path are completely open because, as shared by Heather Harding and related by Cook, “upon completion of the Apprenticeship, (Benges) also becomes eligible for the Child Care Career and Professional Development fund which provides financial assistance all the way through a Master’s degree paid through years of service in Maryland schools or childcare centers.”
As Dr. Derek Simmons, superintendent of Caroline County Public Schools, said during the signing ceremony, “imagine being a junior, and knowing that your education could be paid for through master’s level.” It is that type of opportunity that CCPS students have through the Youth Apprenticeship program and other career readiness initiatives.
Partnership in Workforce Development
Kailey Masten and Vaughn Jones, both seniors at Colonel Richardson High School, are the beneficiaries of workforce development partnership among CCPS, Chesapeake College, and Crystal Steel.
At the Youth Apprenticeship signing on March 12, Cook shared that the three entities working together brought the students to this point.
“This partnership is a perfect example of a community coming together to address a need. Crystal Steel needs a skilled workforce, CCPS has students interested in the (welding) profession, and Chesapeake College has instructors. Chesapeake instructors taught CCPS students dually enrolled in welding at CCTC. After a tour, interview and weld test, Crystal Steel selected Vaughn and Kailey as the top candidates. It is a win-win-win for everyone.”
Masten and Jones are the third and fourth Youth Apprentices signed with Crystal Steel. Plant Manager, Jeff Kieth said, “I am passionate about work education, and I am grateful that I can continue to do that here. It benefits both us and the youth apprentices.”
The Caroline County Public School Apprenticeship Program (#EarnandLearn) provides students with paid, mentored, real-world learning opportunities. The program is open to Juniors and Seniors ages 16+.
The Apprenticeship Program includes one credit of relevant classroom education and a minimum of 450 hours of PAID work experience. The sponsoring business works with the school system to match qualifying students with work experiences and agrees to terms of the Youth Apprenticeship program.
