Nearly 100 students representing 12 school districts across Washington State, came together June 28^th, to celebrate Signing Day 2019 with the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee (AJAC), hiring employers, family and friends. Signing Day marks the first day of the students apprenticeships as they embark on an opportunity to develop and advance their technical skills and work experiences within their chosen industry.

 

 

In an NFL draft-like ceremony, hiring employers and youth apprentices signed letters of intent proclaiming their commitment to start and finish their apprenticeship before high school graduation. During their apprenticeship, students will receive 2,000 hours of paid-on-the-job training and valuable work experience in their chosen field including aerospace, advanced manufacturing, automotive, and culinary.

 

 

During the ceremony, Clint Folyer (Metals Operation Manager) and Stephen Pyne (Metals Shop Foreman) signed on three new apprentices for the metals division. Jacqueline Espinoza and Ilia Andruh from the Tacoma School District will focus their training as production technicians and Gavin Robinson from the Puyallup School District will be training as an automation technician. Apprentices will be working with supervisors and fellow machinists on 3 axis CNC machines, tool and die maintenance, among other types of training. 

 

 

Recap: View photos and videos from the AJAC 2019 Youth Apprenticeship Signing Day Ceremony on their Flickr page and on YouTube.

 

About the AJAC Youth Apprenticeship Program: AJAC currently operates two registered Youth Apprenticeship programs for youth. Both the Production Technician (Youth) and Automation Technician (Youth) are 2,000 hour programs designed for high school juniors and seniors to develop career-ready skills in the aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries. These apprenticeship programs combine paid on-the-job training at an AJAC employer and college-level classroom instruction which can lead to a high school diploma, journey-level card and short-term college certificate.