Thursday, October 17, 2024

Staffers for Senator Mike Lee (Utah) and Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (Utah-02) Visit WECA to Learn How WECA's Workforce Development Efforts and Apprenticeship Training Benefit Constituents


 

WECA Board Members and staff welcomed staffers for United States Senator Mike Lee (Utah) and Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (Utah-02) at WECA's Utah Apprenticeship Training Facility last week.

Mark Welcker, the Business Outreach Director for Senator Lee, and Cody Schlottman, the Outreach Coordinator for Congresswoman Maloy, toured the training facility and learned about the role that WECA plays in workforce development and apprenticeship in Utah.

WECA CEO Don Black, WECA Board of Directors Board Chair Dru Wells, WECA Government Relations Director Rex Hime, WECA lobbyist Richard Markuson, and Utah Lead Instructor Talon Pobuda joined various WECA Board Members in giving the tour and and educating Welcker and Schlottman on the WECA Utah Commercial Electrical Apprenticeship Program.

Welcker and Schlottman were impressed with WECA's practical approach to education after observing cohorts of apprentices moving seamlessly between lectures, presentations, assessments, and hands-on training steps away from each other. They stated that providing as many professional pathways as possible for their constituents is a priority, and noted exactly the value that WECA provides in that space.

"Promoting the trades and apprenticeship as a viable pathway for those in Utah is a like-minded goal for their offices, WECA, and our members," said Hime.

Cody Eaton, Trustee of the WECA Apprenticeship Training Trust Board of Trustees/Apprenticeship Training Committee and Operations Manager for WECA Utah founding Member Contractor Hunt Electric, also took the opportunity to explain how critical competency-based training is for workforce development in Utah.

"With 130 apprentices in the program, no one prepares Hunt Electric's employees for the field like WECA," remarked Eaton.

WECA thanks Mark Weckler and Cody Schlottman for learning more about WECA's workforce development efforts in Utah on behalf of Senator Mike Lee and Congresswoman Celeste Maloy.