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Employers tell Montgomery County council apprenticeships usually start after high school; staff outline pilot models to bridge students earlier
Summary
Construction and automotive employers told the joint committee that registered apprenticeships tend to begin after graduation and that liability, age limits and mentor staffing are barriers for high‑school apprentices; MCPS and partners described pre‑apprenticeship pilots and regional models to bring high‑school students into related instruction.
Industry representatives told Montgomery County’s joint committee Dec. 8 that while apprenticeships are valuable, they usually begin after high school and pose practical constraints when offered to minors.
Neil Staablo, executive vice president at Donahoe Construction Company, said the standard construction apprenticeship model expects entrants to work full time while taking night classes and that companies typically hire apprentices after high school. Farzad Macarecchi of Dark Horse Automotive echoed that liability, age restrictions and the need for dedicated mentors make high‑school apprenticeships difficult to scale.
MCPS and WorkSource Montgomery described existing models and pilots intended to bridge that gap. Sean Krasta, MCPS supervisor of work‑based learning, reviewed a regional school‑to‑apprenticeship partnership with IEC Chesapeake that enrolls students as juniors after an application and interview process; participants spend weekdays on employer sites with related instruction days coordinated by the intermediary. MCPS also reported two high‑school apprentices placed in the district’s Maintenance and Facilities department as an internal pilot.
Presenters and employers noted the role of grants and state startup funding for early costs, and that employer buy‑in requires making the apprenticeship registration and compliance process more manageable. Councilmembers asked staff to explore how other jurisdictions run high‑school apprenticeship models, and requested more data on cost, participation and outcomes before the spring follow‑up.
The committee did not take formal action but directed staff to return with benchmarks and options for scaling apprenticeship and pre‑apprenticeship pathways.
