Last July, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded the East Valley Institute of Technology a $6 million grant to create a statewide hub for registered apprenticeships for high school students and adults. This is an exciting and promising opportunity for Arizona students who want a great career without a mountain of college debt or waiting two, four, or more years of college to enter the workforce. It’s also a big win for Arizona employers who need skilled workers now.

But many schools continue to push their students down another road, a road that will, for many, lead nowhere: college. 

I come from a generation in which a college education was sold as the only pathway to the American Dream. I have spent more years in college than I would like to admit, but to be fair, my degrees did open doors for me professionally and higher education prepared me for my chosen career path. However, traditional higher education is not for everyone. Nor is it what all students desire. Many students don’t want a higher education; they want to be hired – as soon as possible.

EVIT offers four apprenticeship programs starting in January: Electrical, HVACR (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration), Plumbing, and Structural Metal Fabricator (Welding). Tuition is $2,500 per year for 8,000 hours of PAID on-the-job training and 600 hours of related technical instruction. A fifth program, the Aircraft Mechanic Apprenticeship, starts in July. Apprenticeships in these industries can lead to careers that pay over six figures, students earn while they learn, and won’t have to wait years to begin their careers. 

EVIT campuses are located in Mesa, but through the Department of Labor grant, we will be able to offer apprenticeships for students all over the state.

During the Covid pandemic, Americans developed an appreciation for what it means to be employed no matter what, to do “essential” work, and to have a career in an industry that helps keep our nation going. We began questioning the value of amassing thousands and thousands of dollars in college debt to earn a degree that may not result in an actual job.

When parents and guidance counselors have discussions with students about what they want to do post-high school, apprenticeships and trade schools should be as much a part of the conversation as community colleges and universities. Each student should be able to choose a pathway that works best for them. In Europe, apprenticeships are not only respected career paths but revered in some professions. It’s past time that the United States held apprenticeships, trade schools, and other nontraditional education pathways in the same esteem as academia.

This is why EVIT provides students with a range of options. We fought hard at the Legislature for Career Technical Education Districts (CTEDs) to be able to offer associate degrees in certain programs. EVIT now offers two associate degrees in nursing and surgical technology, and we plan to offer more. But we are also providing programs for students who want to earn professional licenses and certifications while still in high school, certificate programs for adults, a new STEM Academy leading to immediate employment, a high school equivalency program for adults who want to earn their GED, a residence center for EVIT students who need a safe place to live while they transition out of foster care, and now – the paid apprenticeships.

This is how we change lives: By helping students design their own nontraditional pathway to their future, their way.

For more information about EVIT apprenticeship programs, please visit:  www.evit.edu/apprenticeships. Employers who are interested in being an apprenticeship site should contact EVIT apprenticeship coordinator Lindsey Gregor at lgregor@evit.edu or (480) 461-4016.

Dr. Chad Wilson is superintendent of the East Valley Institute of Technology, Arizona’s first Career Technical Education District. He has been honored twice by Arizona Capitol Times as a state Public Policy Leader in Education.