MOUNT PLEASANT, IOWA (April 23, 2019) — Iowa Workforce Development announced today that Jabil Packaging Solutions, a division of Jabil, and the IowaWORKS Center in Burlington, together with the US Department of Labor/Office of Apprenticeship, launched a Plastics Process Technician Registered Apprenticeship Program in Mount Pleasant.
A Registered Apprenticeship is employer-driven training combined with on-the-job learning and related classroom-instruction. The program allows the Registered Apprentice to earn a paycheck from day-one while learning. The Plastics Process Technician Registered Apprenticeship is a four-year program with the classroom-training provided through Southeastern Community College. The Registered Apprentice will also receive in-house training with a mentor, participate in online injection-molding training, and receive additional training at Nypro University, a Jabil Company, in Clinton, Massachusetts.
John Johnson, Human Resources for Jabil Packaging Solutions, said the business decided to offer a Registered Apprenticeship Program to invest in their future by developing in-house trained-employees who also benefit from formal education.
"Plastic injection-molding professionals are technical employees who are especially hard to source in our area," Johnson said. "We want to provide hands-on training that rewards them with a Registered Apprenticeship certification that would be useful and rewarding as a solid accomplishment in plastics-manufacturing.
"These technical positions are highly sought-after and required in an injection-molding operation. Successfully completing this Registered Apprenticeship offers a lifetime-career in injection-molding. We are also trying to set ourselves up for the future as some of our current employees are nearing retirement-age and we don’t necessarily have their replacements in the pipeline."
Kristi Ray, Executive Vice President for the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance, applauds Jabil Packaging Solutions for starting a Registered Apprenticeship program to meet their workforce needs.
“Jabil is a wonderful company so I’m excited to see this Registered Apprenticeship program take off," Ray said. "This is just one of the many tools that are part of the Future Ready Iowa initiative. Thanks to Jabil and IowaWORKS for all of their hard work!”
Growing Registered Apprenticeship opportunities in Iowa is one of the goals of a grant received by Iowa Workforce Development from the US Department of Labor. Davis said a Registered Apprenticeship provides training that leads to a US Department of Labor certification that is recognized throughout the United States.
Registered Apprenticeship Programs help recruit, develop a skilled-workforce, and retain talent. There are currently more than 1,000 apprenticeable occupations in industries that include energy, information-technology, health-care, financial-services, transportation, advanced-manufacturing, food and beverage preparation, and the building trades.
Businesses interested in learning more about Registered Apprenticeship opportunities can visit the earnandlearniowa.gov website and complete a form to receive more information. Job-seekers can also fill out a form to learn about Registered Apprenticeship opportunities in Iowa.
This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the US Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on the linked-sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued-availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it.
