Organization Recognized for Commitment to Advancing Colorado Apprenticeships
November 14, 2019 – Lakewood, Colo. – Encore Electric received the 2019 Colorado Apprentice Award for Outstanding Employer from the Business Experiential-Learning (BEL) Commission, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the Colorado Department of Higher Education and the Colorado Workforce Development Council. The award recognized five employers from the state that have worked to further awareness and adoption of apprenticeship programs.
Colorado Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera handed out awards and discussed the benefits of apprenticeship programs from several industries at an event on November 5, 2019 at the Governor’s Mansion in Denver.
“Colorado’s commitment to innovating the ways our communities can come together to make more opportunity for more people a reality is unmatched. That commitment is not only recognized here in the state, but around the country and around the world,” said Noel Ginsburg, chair of the BEL Commission, in a press release. “The stories of apprenticeship we heard this evening are some of the finest examples of apprenticeships anywhere.”
Encore Electric was nominated by Katy Boothby, Youth Career Coach for Summit, Lake and Eagle Counties at the Colorado Rural Workforce Consortium.
“I cannot express how appreciative I am of the relationship with Encore Electric. The Avon location and their team is exemplary,” said Boothby.
Boothby tells a story of when she contacted Encore Electric to host a group of seven young students from Lake County, living in Leadville. She says they have few prospects for a meaningful career in Leadville, especially something that will allow them to continue living in the mountains. Encore hosted a site tour of the construction of Eagle Valley High School, had a safety talk and walked the job site. The group of students then visited the Avon office and had lunch and worked on a board where they could practice some practical electrical skills.
“Four of those young men approached Encore upon their high school graduation and became apprentices,” Boothby said. “Thank you for what you do for our community, our youth, and the Workforce Centers.”
“We are so grateful and humbled to be nominated for and to receive this recognition,” said Pete Palmgren, Mountains Business Unit Leader for Encore Electric. “We work hard to do the right thing in the community and to further careers in the construction trade. Here in the mountains, the apprenticeship model is more important than ever. We assist our employees in their own career growth and we are also focusing on inspiring youth in the community to help individuals create a focused career path to build the leaders for tomorrow.“
During this year’s annual apprenticeship week, the apprenticeship model instituted by Encore Electric and companies like it stands in direct contrast to other, more costly models of continuing post-secondary education. Encore Electric offers a four-year apprenticeship program that allows students to graduate debt-free and with a marketable skill in a trade that is poised to grow as the demand for electrical tradespeople continues to grow well into the 2020s.
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