Tag Archives: working women

Apprenticeship collaboration connects Idaho health clinics with talent

Mariah Aripa holds her dental assisting apprenticeship completion certificate.

Mariah Aripa holds her dental assisting apprenticeship completion certificate. Photo courtesy of ICHCA.

Idaho’s labor market has been tight since the pandemic, particularly for specialized industries like health care.

Health clinics already face a heavy administrative burden and managing and paying for training is a big obstacle that gets in the way of staffing and talent recruitment. The Idaho Community Health Centers Association is trying to solve this problem through apprenticeship training and funding coordination. Continue reading →

Idaho Apprenticeship Program Allows Quality Electric to Train Women for Highly Skilled, Good-Paying Jobs

Karelyn Kruger, 45, is in her second year of a five-year training program as an electrical apprentice for Quality Electric in Boise. She’s creating a second career after working in retail and raising two children.

photo: hand holding electrical cables“I’m older than the average student,” she says with a wry grin. “I’m too old to go into debt and go back to college, so it seemed like a great opportunity to learn a trade, and they’d pay for my education while providing on-the-job training.”

Kruger had to pass an aptitude test, math test and have a GED or high school education to get into the Southwest Idaho Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC) program. Once you pass those tests, “you’re guaranteed a job” while you work under the supervision of an experienced journeyman electrician, she  says.

Continue reading →