Bevill State Signs Apprenticeship Agreements with G&G Steel

Back Row L to R: Danny Kilpatrick, BSCC Machine Tool Instructor – Jasper, Ken Dodd, BSCC Machine Tool Instructor – Hamilton, Jason Barnett, G & G Steel Shop Manager, Dr. Joel Hagood, President of BSCC, Maurice Ingle, BSCC Director of Career Technical Education, Chris Sherrill, G & G Steel Shop Manager, Liz Clark, BSCC Coordinator of Work-Based Learning, Kristin Holder – Alabama Office of Apprenticeships

Front Row Signers L to R: Brayden Wallace, Jacob Watters

Bevill State Community College recently signed apprenticeship agreements with G&G Steel for both Machine Tool Technology and Welding Technology. The apprenticeship agreements are for their facilities in Russellville, AL and Cordova, AL. The College currently has three apprenticeship programs registered with the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship (AOA): Machine Tool Technology, Welding Technology, and Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology (HVAC). Bevill State’s Machine Tool Technology program is the first competency-based apprenticeship to be registered in the state of Alabama. Brayden Wallace and Jacob Watters, both graduates of Phillips High School in Bear Creek, AL, have signed to join the new competency-based Machine Tool Technology apprenticeship program with G&G Steel.

Registered Apprenticeships provide an effective way for employers to recruit, train, and retain highly skilled workers. Registered Apprenticeship is a proven model of job preparation that combines paid on-the-job learning with related instruction to progressively increase workers’ skill levels and wages. In addition, apprenticeships allow employers to develop and apply industry standards to high-quality, structured training programs, therefore increasing productivity and the quality of the workforce.

“Bevill State is very excited about this partnership with G&G Steel. Their collaboration, alongside the Alabama Office of Apprenticeships, allowed Bevill State to develop the first competency-based Machine Tool apprenticeship program in Alabama,” stated Dr. Joel Hagood, President of Bevill State Community College. “I am also eager to watch the progress of the students in this apprenticeship program. Apprenticeships are a wonderful opportunity that affords participants a chance to earn money while they learn, getting real-world, in-field experience. It’s an earn-and-learn model, teaching apprentices the direct relationship between their increasing skills and increasing wages.”

Partnerships for the Bevill State Machine Tool Technology, Welding Technology, and Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology (HVAC) AOA Registered Apprenticeships are open to all business and industry. Interested parties should contact Maurice Ingle, BSCC Director of Career Technical Education, at Maurice.Ingle@BSCC.edu or 800.648,3271 ext. 5940.

For more information about the Alabama Office of Apprenticeships visit www.alapprentice.org.

For more information about G&G Steel visit www.ggsteel.com/about.