Pre-apprenticeship program mentors Eielson’s youth

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lauren-Taylor Garcia
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Many high school students getting ready for graduation may wonder what they will do once they graduate. With so many options, it can be a tough decision.

The pre-apprenticeship program at Ben Eielson Junior-Senior High School helps students answer those questions, guiding them in the direction they may want to go.

The program places juniors and seniors into various work centers on base to see different career fields they might be interested in, allowing them to learn job specific skills related to the career path they have chosen.

"The ultimate goal is that the students are learning and getting something out of it and that they're really benefiting from this program, "said Joe Deutsch, pre-apprenticeship coordinator at BEHS.

For the last three years, the program has allowed students to observe firsthand what it is like in the workforce and see what some of the demands are. The students apply what they learn at school every day, from problem solving to being prompt.

"This program has helped me choose what I wanted to do when I get out of high school," said Dylan Silva, senior at BEHS.

Before students are allowed to join the pre-apprenticeship program, they must take a career development class. Each student is then paired with a mentor who assigns the student tasks to have completed by the end of the semester. The mentor teaches the students step-by-step on how to complete each task.

Based on Tyler Moore's career interest in metals technology, the senior chose to work in the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron vertical shop this year, where he worked with metal.
After Moore completed a safety briefing, his mentor, Airman 1st Class Jacob Wiley, 354th CES welder, assigned him tasks, one of which was to help Wiley with cutting out pieces of sheet metal for a project he had been working on before the pre-apprenticeship program started.

"This whole program has become very beneficial for not only (Moore), but for me (too)," said Wiley. "I feel as if not only is he learning something every day, but I am as well."

The project they worked together involved making different vehicle parts for 354th CES snow barn.

"I really enjoyed the fact that I got more of a hands-on experience and that my mentor actually let me help him with his project,"said Moore.

Both Silva and Moore plan on participating in the pre-apprenticeship program their last semester of school. Silva plans on finding a job as a heavy equipment construction after graduation, while Moore is planning on joining the military to get a job that deals with metals technology.

High school graduates have a myriad of options available, whether it be joining the workforce, enrolling in college or joining the military. The pre-apprenticeship program continues to illuminate those options, helping students make smart choices as they complete high school informed and ready to conquer the world.