PHOENIX — As business booms in Arizona, the state wants to double the number of tradesmen, and women, in the next few years.
On Friday, more than 100 electricians graduated from the Phoenix Electrical JATC Apprenticeship Program — a record number of students to fill the needed roles.
“They put in the work,” Director Shawn Hutchinson said. “We hope they all stay here right here in Arizona, and in our market and help us to meet the needs of the economy here.”
During the four-year program, students complete classroom time, labs and work as apprentices in industries hungry for top-tier talent.
“I want to grow in the business and eventually be a foreman,” graduate Jazmyn Montgomery said.
CEO of Rosendin Electric, Mike Greenawalt, employs some of the graduates.
“I see young men and women that have a future that is so great,” Greenawalt said.
He worked his way up to the top from this very apprenticeship program four decades ago.
“The 45 years I’ve spent in this industry was for this next group coming up,” Greenawalt said. “Graduations like this are the key to the growth of our economy in Arizona. We’re in a phase of growth in Arizona that we’ve never seen before and we’re suffering a labor shortage.”
That’s why the state is pouring support into apprenticeship programs, with the goal to double the number of construction and trade apprentices by 2026.
According to the Arizona Apprenticeship Office within the Department of Economic Security, there are more than 6,400 actively registered apprentices in more than 16 industries, from construction to healthcare to IT.
“A lot of attention being paid to apprenticeship programs, all of a sudden become a very viable pathway forward for graduating seniors,” Hutchinson said.
