Juniors in Questar III’s Youth Apprenticeship Program (YAP) committed to paid internships with one of the program’s local employer partners in their respective trades at a Matching Day event.
On Tuesday, May 18 YAP students, their families and representatives of local employers joined Questar III District Superintendent Dr. Gladys I. Cruz, Director of Career and Technical Education Dr. Denise Fernandez-Pallozzi, and YAP instructors at the Questar III Administrative Office Conference Center to formally present students with paid internships.
Youth apprentices participated in job shadowing experiences with various business partners during March and April to meet business representatives, showcase their skills, and experience what it’s like to work for those businesses. Through job shadowing, both students and businesses alike evaluated the experience and mutually expressed interest in participating in a paid internship with one another.
The internships will begin in the summer and extend through the 2021-22 school year. Internships will give students the unique opportunity to complete more than 200 hours of on-the-job training and examine company culture while earning college credit through Hudson Valley Community College and satisfying New York State high school Regents diploma requirements.
According to the New York State Department of Labor, skilled trade vacancies have been the hardest to fill in the U.S. for several years. About 53 percent of skilled trade workers in New York State are age 45 and older, which is 10 percent above the average for all other jobs. A large portion of the workforce will need to be replaced in the near future. Through internships, employers will have the opportunity to reach the next generation workforce before others and mold matched students into ideal employees to replace their current workforce.
The Questar III YAP is currently in its first academic year. Students who committed to paid internships on May 18 were the first to do so in the program’s history.
For more information on the Questar III YAP, visit www.questar.org/youthapprenticeship.
Watch a playback of the event below.
5:30 Session
Colin Purcell, Benjamin Keeny, Darren St. Aubin, Christian Cirincione, Caleb Beaudoin and Karlis Medins formally committed to internships with Greco Construction, Piasecki Steel Construction, Crisafulli Bros. Plumbing & Heating and Main Care Energy.
6:30 Session
Elijah Dalton, Jason Carlock and Riston Jones formally committed to internships with Peckham Industries, Rifenburg Construction and DeGraff Bloom Custom Builders.
