Close
Search

November 13, 2018

Will Apprenticeships Begin to Eclipse College as Postsecondary Education Choice?

Independent Electrical Contractors Celebrates Electrical Careers During National Apprenticeship Week

After decades of pushing bachelor’s degrees, the U.S. needs more tradespeople.  

In a report cited by National Public Radio from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, “Some 30 million jobs in the United States that pay an average of $55,000 per year don’t require bachelor’s degrees.”

National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) is November 12-16. Across the country, especially in the skilled trades, organizations and companies will be celebrating and communicating about programs, training, and career opportunities for job seekers and the benefits of apprenticeships as a point of job entry. The Independent Electrical Contractors (IECRM) trade association and apprenticeship training program will be celebrating through a week-long schedule of activities to raise awareness about electrical contracting apprenticeships and the secure career path this option represents.

“The shortage of workers is pushing wages higher in the skilled trades,” says Marilyn Stansbury, CEO of IECRM.  “The financial return from a bachelor’s degree is softening, even as the price – and the average debt into which it plunges students – keeps going up.”

According to IECRM, apprenticeships are an attractive and affordable alternative based on earning while learning and lifelong professional development opportunities.  Rapidly rising wages in the skilled trades are making these jobs even more attractive.  Plus, electrical contracting apprenticeships lead to secure careers for many including returning military vets, women, and underserved populations.  Yet high school graduates have been so effectively encouraged to get a bachelor’s degree that high-paid jobs requiring shorter and less expensive training are going unfilled.  This affects those students and impacts the economy in not only Colorado but across the U.S.

“Parents want success for their kids,” says Stansbury.  “They get stuck on traditional college and don’t see that the skilled trades like electrical contracting could be a major opportunity.”  She adds, “There’s a perception that a higher ed degree is essential to the American Dream and the biggest bang for your buck. Yet many people are going to college without a plan, without a career in mind, and are finding that after graduation the reality of a job is not necessarily guaranteed, and still have the burden of huge debt.”

In the electrical contracting and renewable energy sectors, IECRM touts job security.  “The reality that our world will never use less power than it does today, and that electrical work — in any structure, transportation infrastructure, or applications that ensure quality of life — is the prevailing nervous system that makes it all work,” says Stansbury. “We cannot function in our world without electricity.  This translates into career security and living wages well into the future.”

Finally, people with career and technical educations also are more likely to be employed than their counterparts with academic credentials, the U.S. Department of Education reports, and are significantly more likely to be working their fields of study.

“Yet young people and their parents don’t seem to be getting that message,” says Stansbury. “A common misperception is that skilled trade jobs are not prestigious enough and low-paying.  That is a huge misconception.”

For more information about IECRM, National Apprenticeship Week (Nov 12-16) and great career opportunities, visit www.iecrm.org.  Come see for yourselves at the IECRM National Apprenticeship Week open house from 2-5pm on Wednesday, November 14. Learn more about the IECRM Apprenticeship Program, electrical career opportunities, and training for the next generation electrician. Building and lab tours every half hour.

 

###

 

IECRM Self-Pay Tuition Policy

 

Self-pay students who are employed with a member company must register and pay through the member company using the IECRM Flashpoint Enrollment Portal/Process in order to qualify for member rates.

Self-pay students that are employed with a member company but that do not register and pay through the member will be charged the non-member rate for tuition, books and applicable fees.


Self-pay students who are employed with a member company and require a payment plan will not qualify for the member rate and will be charged the non-member rate for tuition, books and applicable fees.


Self-pay students who do not work for a member company will continue to be charged the non-member rate for tuition, books and applicable fees.


To maximize association/membership benefits, ALL member companies are encouraged to register and pay for all enrolled apprentices utilizing internal payment arrangements and processes between employer and employee.


We value our IECRM members and apprentice community. We encourage all apprentices to be enrolled in the four-year apprenticeship program, earning, and learning their way toward Journeyworker licensure. We encourage all members to utilize the member discount for tuition, books and applicable fees to ensure the long-term support and success of the next-generation electrician.


(Payment Plans are available, please reference the Self Pay Payment Plan Policy.)


Self-Pay Payment Plan Policy


We offer the following arrangements for students that are unable to pay in full at the time of registration.


● Self-pay students will be charged the non-member rate.
● A 50% down payment of total semester tuition, books and applicable fees are due at registration.
● Remaining balance can be divided up to 3 additional monthly payments ($10.00 processing fee applies on each installment)
● All payments that are declined will incur a $20.00 NSF fee.

 

We encourage all students who are employed with a member company to work with their employer to register and pay through the IECRM Flashpoint Enrollment Portal/Process. This will ensure the student is paying the lowest possible rate for tuition, books and applicable fees.