Wake Technical Community College announced on June 8 a partnership with Wake County Public Schools to launch a youth apprenticeship program: the WakeWorks® Youth Apprenticeship Academy. According to a press release from Wake Tech, the program is supported by a $4 million award from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Free for all participants, the academy will connect students with careers in infrastructure-related fields across nine U.S. cities, including Raleigh. The program is a part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ $90 million initiative to expand pathways for high school students to enter Registered Apprenticeships and pursue high-wage, family-sustaining careers in skilled trades.
“We are deeply grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies for this historic investment, which will help us expand life-changing opportunities for students while strengthening the workforce pipeline for our community,” Wake Tech President Dr. Scott Ralls said in the release. “Through this partnership with Wake County Public Schools, we are creating a powerful new model that allows students to begin building meaningful careers while still in high school.”
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Through the academy, high school juniors and seniors will be able to gain hands-on experience in skilled trade work along with college credit, all at the same time.
Juniors will start in the academy as pre-apprentices, where they will take tuition-free Wake Tech courses, earn a stipend, and explore career opportunities. Then, as seniors, they will progress to a Registered Youth Apprenticeship, where they will continue with their Wake Tech coursework and begin earning their own wages as they work with a local employer. Finally, students may choose to continue their registered apprenticeship, complete their degree at Wake Tech, or enter the workforce.
“By bringing schools, unions, and employers together as partners, we can offer students free training and credentials that lead directly to rewarding careers,” said Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term mayor of New York City. “Jobs in the skilled trades helped build America’s middle class, and now they can help a new generation enter and strengthen it.”
The program is designed to help students enter high-wage, high-demand jobs such as automotive technicians, construction workers, electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and welders. Demand for skilled trades like these have been on the rise, and the academy program is designed to meet that need.
For example, the North Carolina construction industry is projected to expand significantly in the next several years, the press release says, adding roughly 12,800 jobs by 2034, according to research from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Additionally, state population growth is increasing the need for housing, which the release says will “further drive demand for skilled workers across fields.”
“Millions of good-paying jobs are going unfilled, and too many students never get a chance to learn the skills necessary to get them. This new initiative will help change that,” said Bloomberg.
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The investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies is the largest in Wake Tech’s history, according to the release, and will go toward developing and expanding the WakeWorks Youth Apprenticeship Academy. According to the press release, the money will go to fund all aspects of the program — student stipends, books, tools, wraparound support, and even employer wage stipends.
The academy is an expansion of Wake Tech’s already nationally recognized apprenticeship program, which launched in 2020. The program has 140 active employer partners and has served nearly 550 apprentices this year, per the release.
“Our partnership with Wake Tech enables young scholars to grow into adults ready to thrive and strengthen the community,” said Dr. Robert Taylor, superintendent of the Wake County Public School System. “The Youth Apprenticeship Academy will create a pathway to success for students from all backgrounds.”
The first cohort will start in January 2027 with 60 students, the release says, and the program will serve a projected 250 students in the next three years.
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