ANSWER:

MCPS has a small group of apprenticeships that are filled by current students, MCPS graduates, and college graduates.

There are currently two grade 12 students who begin their day with us (four hours each day), and then are transported by school buses to their schools for afternoon classes. We have three apprentices who graduated from MCPS in 2023. One works with TeamWorks in the Department of Materials Management that focuses on the maintenance of school copiers and two work with Copy-Plus instructional materials. In addition, we have two MCPS graduates who worked in summers with us while pursuing bachelor’s degrees in visual arts and now are with us year-round. Both attended Thomas Edison High School of Technology. Every student apprentice we recruit is placed on a path-to-permanent MCPS employment. It is a two-to-three-year process. Employee benefits and program growth offer ongoing opportunities.

Two MCPS operations supervisors support the mentors (Service Employees International Union Local 500 technical specialists) assigned to each apprentice. Along with ongoing Office of Human Resources and Development direction/support and Department of Material Management leadership, the program receives subject-matter expertise from the supervisor of MCPS Work-based Learning.