Apprentice Program Graduate Sees New Career Success
Alan Rodriguez got a well-deserved career boost from SEIU Local 1000’s groundbreaking apprenticeship program, and is enjoying a new job, more income, and most important, more time with his family.
Alan was one of the first graduates of Local 1000’s Information Technology Apprentice Program. His education and on-the-job training began in September 2018, and now he’s part of the Enterprise Technology Solutions (ETS) at the Department of General Services.
His responsibilities include managing a range of IT services: hardware, networking, software and custom applications, change management, and procurement.
There is an interesting connection between Alan’s new job, and the 18 years he spent at the Office of State Printing. It’s finding solutions for his customers and coworkers to help them work more effectively and efficiently.
“Helping people and finding solutions is just part of my nature,” says Alan. Now, he’s got lots of opportunity to help. “DGS has a huge reach into dozens of state agencies and scores of workplaces,” he added.
Alan Rodriguez has high praise for his Union and the new career opportunity apprenticeship provided him. But there’s more:
“This program is diverse in many ways but unified by the common goal of building a future,” he said. “Our group worked closely together, helped each other, and that continues even today.”
About Local 1000’s Apprenticeship Programs
In order to give our members the opportunity to have a good life, live in sustainable communities and enjoy the fruits of social, economic and environmental justice, our Union has worked to create new and innovative apprentice program opportunities.
Apprenticeships couple on-the-job training with related study and instruction in order to increase workers’ skills and allow them to be more competitive in the job market. At the same time, workers continue to receive income, avoiding financial barriers that otherwise would prevent them from attaining education and new skills.
Traditionally, the term “apprenticeship” applies to trade jobs, like carpenter or sheet metal worker. Local 1000 has already created groundbreaking apprenticeships in non-traditional areas like health care, financial services, and information technology, and is working to expand into other areas.