ROCK ISLAND, Illinois -- "Local Union 25" in Rock Island has signed on a diverse class of plumbing, pipefitting and HVAC apprentices.
The five-year program offers classroom education and hands-on training for the next generation of workers in the skilled trades.
As a new class of 30 students embarks on the program in the summer of 2019, Training Coordinator Chuck McKnight declared day one as "signing day for local 25 apprenticeship program."
The apprentices will be experiencing different lines as journeymen in the plumbing, pipefitting or HVAC trades.
Some of the apprentices mentioned their optimism that the field will give them more financial stability and job security.
Local 25 values apprenticeship education at $30,000 over the course of five years. The 2019 class is known as one of the most diverse in terms of race and age, ranging between 18 and 48 years old.