First lady Dr. Jill Biden visited a suburban high school Monday to kick off National Apprenticeship Week, a yearly program celebrating the importance of apprenticeship programs run by unions and employers in the U.S.
Biden was joined in the Chicago-area by Education Secretary Dr. Miguel Cardona, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The first lady met with students at Rolling Meadows High School, as well as business leaders in Chicago that are part of programs that are helping students and workers to find good-paying jobs.
During the event in Rolling Meadows, students demonstrated the robots they’ve built in class.
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“We want kids to build, we want to apply that STEM learning, and we want to engage those students in possible careers and experience real situations before they graduate,” teacher and administrator Dave Wietrzak said.
Sophomore Kate Foley says she met with the first lady, sharing her love for engineering.
“My teachers have greatly influenced my learning and interest in engineering through the fun projects that we do,” she said. “Freshman year, the first week of class, we did an egg drop challenge, where we had to design a protective case for an egg and drop it from the top of the bleachers. These small projects can be used as bigger things in the real world.
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“It’s a protective case for an egg now, but in the future, it could be a protective case for much more,” she added.
Cardona congratulated students and faculty at the school for their creative efforts to open up the STEM field to a broader audience.
“We’re really serious about raising the bar across the country,” he said. “Unlocking career success (is important), and we’re here today because you’re doing it exceptionally well. We want to lift this model; we want to replicate it.”
Biden also made a stop at Aon’s headquarters in Chicago for a discussion with the Chicago Apprentice Network. More than 75 companies participate in the program, which provides job education in the city.
“Your businesses have the skilled, innovative workers they need to thrive,” Biden said. “Education has always been about jobs, and it isn’t a red issue or a blue issue. It’s an American issue.”
The goal is to encourage businesses to reach out to young people so they will envision jobs that without being exposed to they might not imagine, according to the group’s website.
The eighth-annual National Apprenticeship Week celebrates registered apprenticeship in the U.S., according to the Labor Department’s website. According to Walsh, themes for the week will include expanding apprenticeship to underserved populations, as well as encouraging apprenticeship programs in the public sector.
More information can be found on Apprenticeship.gov.
