Dean Technical unveils apprenticeship program wall for union trade jobs

Dean Technical High School students, staff, and school leaders, Holyoke Public Schools district leaders, Career and Technical Education instructors, Mayor Joshua Garica and representatives from local trade unions at the ribbon cutting.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet

HOLYOKE — Dean Technical High School students will have an easier pathway to learn about and apply for apprenticeship program opportunities with local trade unions.

The school hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 13 to formally unveil the Dean Technical High School Apprenticeship Program Wall, a new installation designed to help students explore long-term career opportunities in the union trades.

The wall highlights several skilled trades and apprenticeship programs connected to career pathways available to students through vocational education. The installation reflects a collaboration among school administration, career and technical education staff, and Dean Technical High School programs to create a student-facing resource connected to the opportunities available after graduation.

“This wall represents your future,” said Dean Principal Roseanne Caracciolo. “We only have our students for four years, and I say only, but we are life-long learners, and we want to affect their lives after they graduate, so this wall is to remind them that we care about their future every single day. We want you to be able to earn a sustainable living and help the community, and be able to live on your own for the rest of your lives. There’s never going to be a time when we don’t need the trades.”

The wall features 10 different apprenticeship programs with local trade unions. Each trade sign has a QR code next to it that will give people more information on wages and benefits with that specific trade union and a direct link to apply.

Career and Technical Education Director Joel McAuliffe said the Apprenticeship Program Wall is one of the first in Massachusetts. He talked about how this wall will help enhance opportunities for the students.

“We acknowledge that this wall is more than just a wall. It is a visible reminder to our students that vocational education and good union jobs can open doors,” McAuliffe said. “It shows them that skills they are learning here at Dean Tech, in our shops and in our classrooms, connect directly to real careers, real apprenticeships and real opportunities right here in the greater Holyoke region.”

McAuliffe added that these pathways are a ticket to the middle class to help secure students sustaining jobs that can allow them to build a life or a family, buy a home, contribute to their community and take pride in their work.

“For generations, the middle class has built this country, and unions have helped build the middle class. You see that legacy in trades and organized labor and the opportunities created for working people in their families,” he stated.

Dean Technical High School students, staff, school leaders, Holyoke Public Schools district leaders, Mayor Joshua Garica, Career and Technical Education instructors and representatives from local trade unions were all present at the ribbon cutting.

Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council President Colton Andrews spoke on behalf of the union representatives at the event about how this wall will also benefit the trade union in their search for people who want to work.

“I know on behalf of the trades, having partnerships like this with schools like Dean Technical is a huge leg up for us. I think in this day and age, to try to cultivate opportunities for new apprentices, for people to get into the trades. That pool for us seems to be getting smaller and smaller,” Andrews stated. “AI is changing the dynamic of the industry; we talk about it quite frequently internally, but at the end of the day, we can’t replace a pair of hands, and at the end of the day, things still need to be built, still need to have a person behind the tools that are producing that.”

Andrews also had a message for the students: take advantage of the opportunities they currently have in front of them.

“I don’t think you guys quite realize how much of a leg up you have right now. I can tell you the amount of college graduates we get that come in to apply for apprenticeship programs, went to school for four years; they’re $100,000 in debt,” Andres explained. “You’re coming out of programs where you already got the hands-on experience, you got the skills, you got the knowledge. You can jump right into an apprenticeship program at 18. On behalf of the laborers, when you’re 18, you can retire fully at 48.”

McAuliffe thanked the unions for helping students understand the value of apprenticeship, technical training and family-sustaining careers in the skilled trades.