Today, June 14^th, 79 graduates from 48 different companies will walk across a stage at the Museum of Flight to receive their journey-level credentials from the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee (AJAC) program.

Tool Gauge apprentice, Raquel Taijito, is one of the 79 graduates who will receive her journey-level credential as a Production Technician. Not only is she receiving her credentials at tonight’s ceremony, but she be receiving her high school diploma from Stadium High School in Tacoma, Wash.

Raquel was hired through a partnership with Tool Gauge and AJAC as a registered Youth Apprentice.

“Raquel displayed a genuine interest in working for Tool Gauge during the interview process,” said Clint Folyer, Metals Operations Manager. “She carried herself very well and answered my questions with mature, though-out answers.  She showed all the right qualities that we look for in an employee.”

 

 

During her sophomore year, Raquel’s mom and high school engineering teacher encouraged her to enroll in AJAC’s Youth apprenticeship program as a Production Technician.

“I knew I liked to build things. When I was a little girl I used to love to play with Legos and it would be all these funky designs, but I remember just enjoying building and designing my own stuff,” Taijito said.

The Youth Apprenticeship program is designed for high school juniors and seniors to develop career-ready skills in aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries. The 2,000-hour programs combine paid hands on, on-the-job training with an AJAC employer alongside college level classroom instructions which can lead to a high school diploma, journey-level credential and short-term college certificate.

“The AJAC program helps close the skill gap between experienced workers leaving the workforce and the rate at which new talent is trained so that companies are never without the talent that makes them successful,” Folyer said.

 

 

As the school year comes to a close, Raquel is looking forward to keeping up her skills with a full-time job at Tool Gauge. In fall of 2019, she will enroll as a freshman at St. Martins University with a goal to pursue an aeronautical engineering degree.

“My dream is not actually owning a shop,” Taijito said. “But it’s being a part of a company where I can design aerospace parts – something that deals with NASA or satellites. That’s my ultimate goal.”

Congratulations to Raquel and the rest of the AJAC class of 2019!