This year was key in the evolution of the UVA Apprenticeship Program, as the program’s team developed a new four-year training model to be known as the 2+2 Program.
Facilities Management's apprenticeship program was first established in 1982 and has operated using a traditional training model that involved four years of classroom and on-the-job training in a trade chosen from the start of the apprenticeship. The incoming cohort of apprentices starting in 2021 will be piloting the new 2+2 Program model, in which apprentices spend their first two years taking general skilled trades education and safety courses that relate across all trades tracks. In the third and fourth years of the program, apprentices focus their training on their chosen trade of carpentry, masonry, plumbing, HVAC or electrical.
McCormick Zone Apprentice Trevor Herring completes an extra stress check on exhaust fans at the Physical Life Sciences to ensure all will run smoothly over the holidays (Photo by Paul Veselinovic / UVA Facilities Management). HVAC Apprentice Ashley Bell works on the ventilation exhaust system belts on the Chemistry Building's roof (Photo by Avery Wagner / User Experience & Engagement)
This new program model is similar to a degree program that requires general education courses before concentrating on a major of study. Often, apprentices start with little experience in the trades. As they gain experience with the many skilled trades workers at Facilities Management, they will be better equipped to make an informed choice of which trade may suit them best.