The Guam Department of Labor announced Monday its Registered Apprenticeship Program has surpassed 1,000 active participants, a milestone coinciding with the island's first full-week observance of National Apprenticeship Week.
GDOL Director David Dell'Isola said the figure is a significant jump from 240 apprentices per year when the current administration took office.
"Guam continues to lead the nation in apprentices per capita," Dell'Isola said. "It speaks volumes about the effort and hard work it took to get us this far."
Apprentices are training across construction, healthcare, information technology, hospitality, public service and automotive trades. The program has also expanded into government agencies including the Guam Power Authority, all law enforcement agencies, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Corrections.
Dell'Isola said the program removes a barrier that previously kept many residents from entering lengthy training programs.
"Before apprenticeships, our biggest hurdle was that many unemployed individuals couldn't get into an extensive training program. They had families to support and bills to pay," he said. "Apprenticeship changes that by allowing them to earn a paycheck while they learn."
GDOL is also targeting high school students, positioning apprenticeship alongside college and trade school as a career pathway.
For more information, call 671-475-7000/1 or visit dol.guam.gov.
