By Nate Nehring / Herald Forum
I’d like to take an opportunity to express my gratitude to our Snohomish County legislative delegation for its ongoing commitment to supporting postsecondary career alternatives for our local high school students.
In particular, I want to thank state Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, and state Rep. Mary Fosse, D-Everett, who both led the effort in their respective chambers to secure ongoing funding for the Regional Apprenticeship Pathways (RAP) Program.
The RAP Program serves students throughout Snohomish County by offering them hands-on pre-apprenticeship training in a high school setting in order to prepare them for successful postsecondary careers in the skilled trades. Students who graduate from the RAP Program earn their high school diploma, a college credential from Everett Community College, and either preferred or direct entry into a state-certified apprenticeship program of their choosing. This sets these students up for success following high school with the training and experience to pursue careers with good benefits and a family-wage job in the skilled trades.
The RAP Program started in 2019 thanks to a great deal of legwork from then-Rep. Mike Sells of Everett. Since then, the program has served 50 Snohomish County students per year. Unfortunately, due to lack of capacity, for every student accepted into the RAP Program another student was being turned away. With this in mind, advocates approached Robinson and Fosse with the hope of securing ongoing funding to continue and potentially expand the RAP Program.
Our legislators hit a home run on this issue and were able to not only secure sustainable, ongoing funding to continue this important program, but also provide additional funding which will allow the RAP Program to expand and serve an even greater number of local students. Thanks to the diligent work of Robinson, Fosse, and the rest of our legislative delegation, more students will have the opportunity to receive hands-on training to prepare them for successful careers in the trades following high school.
There is certainly lots more work to be done in the areas of K-12 education as well as workforce development both in our state and nationwide. However, I think it’s important to call attention to success stories and express our appreciation for those who work on behalf of the community to make these things happen.
As a result of the hard work of legislators and RAP staff, this program is being used as a model for developing similar pre-apprenticeship programs in other areas of the state, which in turn will benefit more young people. Kudos to Sen. Robinson, Rep. Fosse, and all others who played a role in securing this critical ongoing funding for our students.
Nate Nehring, Republican, is a Snohomish County Council member, representing District 1.
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