ext week is National Apprenticeship Week, an annual initiative launched to showcase the successes and value of Registered Apprenticeship for rebuilding our economy, advancing racial and gender equity, and supporting underserved communities. This sparks a national conversation around the upskilling of workers across skilled trade verticals amid the economic ebbs and flows we have seen in the past few years – from the Great Resignation to the Looming Recession. According to Service Council research, 70% of field service organizations are concerned about gaps created by the retiring field workforce.

In 2021, more than 241 thousand new apprentices entered the national apprenticeship program and upwards of 16 million students were enrolled in vocational training programs.

Encouraging younger workers and creating opportunities for them to participate in both apprenticeships and vocational training programs are ways employers in skilled trade industries such as construction, energy sectors, plumbing, electrical, welding, auto/trucking repair, etc. can work towards a future unphased by the current rocky labor conditions.

To give back to communities, GPS Insight recently announced the launch of its Skilled Trades Scholarship program, which will award two scholarships of $10,000 each to students planning to pursue full-time skilled trades study at a college or accredited vocational-technical school in the 2023-2024 academic.