The Montana Apprenticeship and Training Program – Apprenticeship training a good option in today’s competitive job market

When Jake Tucker, 22, graduated from Great Falls High School in 2007, he knew he didn’t really want to head to college.

Instead, he took a job as a construction laborer for about six months until applying for an opening at A.T. Klemens Heating & Air Conditions, Electrical, Plumbing, Roofing and Sheet Metal. Now he has completed the first three years of a four-year apprenticeship as an electrician with the company.

"This has been a good choice for me, this route," Tucker said. "I get paid on the job. It is such a hard time to get a job at this particular time, and I feel very lucky to have gone into a trade."

In Montana, registered apprenticeships span everything from traditional trades industries to medical and food service fields.

The Montana Apprenticeship and Training Program http://wsd.dli.mt.gov/apprenticeship/

By JO DEE BLACK • Tribune Business Editor

Full Story: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20110116/NEWS01/101160303/Apprenticeship-training-a-good-option-in-today-s-competitive-job-market