Welding Apprentice Program at ALM Positioners
Having an organized career path ahead of you can be very important for high schoolers nearing graduation and thinking about their futures. ALM Positioner, Inc. (Rock Island, IL) has found a way to get involved and offer their knowledge: Davenport Community Schools‘ High School Welding Registered Apprentice program is new for the 2019 year. The majority of students starting in this program have established interest in welding and are taking the opportunity head-on by completing pre-requisite courses through their respective high schools. Upon application and acceptance, they can take advanced courses through Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ Blong Technology Center while working at local companies to become a licensed apprentice.
“Today in manufacturing, we see a lack of skilled tradespeople coming in as new employees. Our main goal in being part of this program is to lend our resources to better prepare the students for the future,” said Kevin Toft, the president at ALM, which brought on Blake Linz, a senior at Davenport West High School, in June 2019. Linz thought this apprenticeship program would be great for him to further his knowledge and continue his love for welding. “I have learned a lot already since I started, from reading blueprints to learning welding positions, squaring up positioners to learning more about the tape measure,” he said.
Linz currently works full-time at ALM during the summer and will work part-time during his senior year. Following the apprenticeship program, he would like to keep working in welding and absorb any information that he can to continue learning. “This program will allow these students to get a big head start on their careers by learning job specifics, life skills, responsibility and teamwork,” added Toft. If you or someone you know would be interested in this program, contact Melanie Bennett at 309-787-6200 for more information.
