Tri-C’s Starr Sherman: Consider an Apprenticeship Program

MTC manager tells Smart Business Cleveland that programs “offer employers opportunities to curate their own talent pipeline.”

An increasing number of U.S. companies have launched or expanded apprenticeship programs in recent years. The reason? They’re delivering results for employers as well as students.

Apprenticeships help defray the cost of education for students preparing to enter trades and other skilled-labor fields. At the same time, they allow employers to develop new talent, equipping future full-time employees with skills and a knowledge base specific not just to the industry, but to the company itself.

Starr Sherman, manager of Cuyahoga Community College’s Manufacturing Technology Center of Excellence, recently spoke with Smart Business Cleveland about the mutual benefits of apprenticeships and why federal, state and local governments — along with educational institutions like Tri-C — have committed funding to the advancement of apprenticeship programs.

“Apprenticeships offer an alternative pathway to college for students seeking to avoid expensive tuition and loans,” Sherman told Smart Business. “The programs also offer employers opportunities to curate their own talent pipeline and customize training to their specific needs so future employees know their equipment and processes.”

May 31, 2019

Erik Cassano, 216-987-3577 erik.cassano@tri-c.edu