Davids Participates in Chimney Service Apprenticeship, Highlights Efforts to Strengthen Kansas Workforce
SPRING HILL, KS – Today, Representative Sharice Davids shadowed apprentices at Full Service Chimney to highlight her efforts to strengthen Kansas’ workforce. Davids has voted to support the U.S. Department of Labor’s Registered Apprenticeship Program, which helps place workers in jobs at Full Service Chimney and dozens of other companies in Kansas’ Third District. Apprenticeships help close the wage gap between high school and college graduates and have an average return on investment of $1.44 for every $1.00 spent.
“Today I got to see exactly how the Registered Apprenticeship Program helps Kansas businesses fill in-demand jobs and Kansas employees get the skills they need for a successful career,” said Davids. “I’ve long been an advocate for these effective programs and will continue advocating for their support as we implement recently passed federal legislation here in Kansas. By supporting our workforce needs, we can better compete against countries like China and lower costs for Kansas families and businesses.”
“After working at the Railroad for many years, I wanted a good job with regular hours and good pay,” said Jessie Lawrence, Journeyman and previous apprentice. “At Full Service Chimney, I found both, and an apprenticeship I could build a career with. As one of the first to complete the apprenticeship and become a journeyman, I have found this to be my career path, and look forward to helping others along the way.”
“Since we invested in the apprenticeship program, we’ve attracted and retained higher quality employees,” said Robert Berry, Owner and Master Chimney Sweep, Full Service Chimney. “Individuals who seek out these programs are future focused with a serious commitment toward serving the company and community, which is apparent to management and more importantly to our customers. The outlook for Full Service Chimney has never been brighter, due in no small part to the implementation of our Registered Apprenticeship Program.”
Davids shadowed chimney service apprentices as they learned to mason brick chimneys and pour concrete chimney toppers at Full Service Chimney’s training warehouse in Spring Hill. Davids shared her efforts to expand access to good-paying jobs and workforce training opportunities through Registered Apprenticeships, which have been shown to be the most successful approach to growing a highly skilled workforce for in-demand occupations. 93 percent of these apprentices are employed upon completion, earning an average starting wage of $70,000 a year.
“The Registered Apprenticeship has made it possible for us, as the employer to better reach candidates with skillsets we need to run a successful operation,” said Jennifer Martinez, Apprenticeship Sponsor, Full Service Chimney. “As of now, 44 percent of our apprentices are military veterans and we are so proud to be able to attract such talent to our team. Thanks to programs like Kansas Works and their local Workforce Partnerships connecting us with the Transition Assistance Program at Fort Leavenworth. That has really helped us gain traction in our efforts to reach military members who are looking to transition into a new career path!”
While our economy is experiencing record job creation, Davids has been squarely focused on boosting workforce opportunities, including apprenticeships, for Kansans. She was the only member of Kansas’ congressional delegation to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure law, which is creating good-paying construction jobs at home. Davids also voted for major bipartisan manufacturing legislation last year, which has already generated more than 100,000 jobs nationwide. Finally, Davids previously announced Kansas’ Third Congressional District has created more clean energy jobs than any other congressional district in the country over the past year.