A big night for a lot of deserving Birmingham City School students, as they received apprenticeship jobs through the Birmingham Promise program.
Nearly 100 students were matched with 60 local employers.
Over the next 16 weeks, students will be paid $15 an hour and will learn the ins and outs of their particular job. They’ll also receive high school credit.
“It gives us a chance to get paired with mentors and just to get new experiences to see where we want to go in life and it gives us a workforce opportunity, maybe it gets people thinking about even going to college,” Shelby Harmon, a Ramsay High School student who received an internship at Hoar Construction.
Businesses say investing in students can help their workforce.
“The school system and the Birmingham Promise have invested in them to train them for the opportunity so we’re just excited to have an opportunity to invest in her and hopefully she’ll learn a lot from us,” Kerry Hendricks with Hoar Construction said.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said these students will make connections during their apprenticeships that will shape their careers. This is the second phase of the Birmingham Promise which started last summer with a 7-week apprenticeship program for 23 students and 22 employers.
