Pipelines of Opportunity: Building Careers in Trades

In this episode, we explore apprenticeships and internships in skilled trades, focusing on the experiences of individuals like Christian Heerde, a high school graduate, and Cody Schroeder from Midwestern Mechanical. They explore the structure, benefits, and personal growth opportunities within apprenticeships, emphasizing hands-on learning, earning while learning, and the significant impact skilled trades have on communities.

Transcript

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00:00:03 VerMulm 

We're giving you more than just the 411. This is the Harrisburg 412 podcast coming to you from Southern Sioux Falls and Harrisburg, SD. 

00:00:18 Lynch 

Welcome back 412 listeners to the Harrisburg podcast. We are celebrating all things. 

00:00:23 Lynch 

During it's February, February is CTE month. Today I have Cody and Christian from Midwestern Mechanical. Thanks for joining. 

00:00:32 Schroeder 

Thank you. Thanks for having us. 

00:00:33 Lynch 

Alright, so let's just jump right into it. First of all, what's an apprenticeship, Cody? You want to tackle that one? 

00:00:37 Schroeder 

Yeah. So an apprenticeship is kind of just a it's a training along with their on the job training. So aside from having their regular 40 hour a week, they also have a classroom where they have to learn technical skills. 

00:00:53 Schroeder 

And then they have a lab as well, where they learn more hands on stuff at more of a controlled pace and better environment where they're learning it out in the field as well. But they're also learning it in this apprenticeship class and they really get a detailed explanation of what they're doing and understanding of what they're doing so, there's course work involved on the job or in the field training, and then that third piece is wages. 

00:01:19 Schroeder 

Right. Correct, yes. So they're making a wage the whole time. So they're getting paid and making money. And our apprenticeship program is free as well. So they're. 

00:01:29 Schroeder 

Earning while they're learning and have no cost added to that. So it's really a great benefit for them as well financially. 

00:01:37 Lynch 

So Christian, you are a Harrisburg graduate. What year did you graduate 2222. So still a young graduate. OK, so you were a member of our high school internship program. Yeah. And so I get to coordinate that. So that's super fun. I get to know you through that process. So you came to me and said, I'm interested in working for Midwestern Mechanical as an intern and I said OK and I reached out to Cody. 

00:02:03 Lynch 

And we sit down. We have a conversation. We do the normal internship stuff, get our resume ready, our interest letter, we shoot that over to Cody. You can go to Midwestern Mechanical. You have a conversation if you feel like it's a good fit, you say. 

00:02:15 Lynch 

Let's try it out. OK, So what did your internship experience look like, Christian? 

00:02:20 Heerde 

Basically, when I first started as an intern, I was put into the shop with a journeyman of the name Victor. Victor kind of showed me the steps and tricks throughout the processes of all the basic information we need to do like to be plumbers, a lot of the simple tasks that people wouldn't know if you weren't a plumber or stuff that is easy to pick up, but you need to be taught it for sure. 

00:02:53 Lynch 

Sure. So you came into your internship experience with no plumbing background, correct? 

00:02:58 Heerde 

No, I've had construction experience by just helping family. Plumbing. I had never even touched. 

00:03:05 Lynch 

So why did you come to me and say, hey, I think I want to try out Midwestern Mechanical. 

00:03:09 Heerde 

Well, one of my close friends, his dad was actually their service manager at the time when I first started. 

00:03:18 Heerde 

And he has always talked very highly about Midwestern loved everything that they did for them was treated very well the entire time he worked there. And his son, Ethan, my best friend, started working there and told me I should start looking into getting a job there if I wasn't going to go to. 

00:03:37 Heerde 

College didn't really kind of work out, and I found a future better suited doing stuff with my hands so decided. 

00:03:45 Lynch 

Yeah, let's just say high school coursework probably wasn't your favorite. Other parts of high school were fine. Yeah, sports, friends, that kind of thing. 

00:03:48 Heerde 

No. Yeah. Yeah, curriculum was never my favorite. So I mean, basically he just kind of helped me understand the fact that I like doing things with my hands. Why not make a career out of it and he goes plumbing is a good one to do with it. He's like, you're a hard worker. You'll be. You'll do fine. He's like, just keep working. He's like, you'll move up. He's like, you're smart. You're capable. 

00:03:55 Lynch 

That's OK. 

00:04:13 Heerde 

He's like you. 

00:04:14 Heerde 

That goes a long ways. So yeah, so there's lots of people that had a belief in you. Maybe you didn't realize the talents or skills, maybe you were bringing to the table right away, but the internship process let you get the wheels turning on. Maybe this is interesting for me. I have some skills. I picked this stuff up really quickly. 

00:04:29 Heerde 

Yeah, absolutely. Like if it wasn't for the internship opportunity, I mean, I maybe would have dabbled in it, but. 

00:04:37 Heerde 

The apprenticeship option would have been probably more through STI if I've would have not done the internship. 

00:04:44 Lynch 

Sure. So, Cody kind of transition us from what an internship looks like. So that ability to maybe try things out in a more controlled environment to then taking on a full on apprenticeship opportunity. 

00:04:58 Schroeder 

Correct. So the full on apprenticeship opportunity really, it's just giving them all the tools they need to get to the end goal, which is the Journeyman's license. So we teach them all that. We give them all the tools they need for that through the education, through the hands, on training, at a controlled environment, controlled pace. 

00:05:24 Schroeder 

That's really what The Apprentice, I guess model, is and how it goes about and. 

00:05:31 Lynch 

How have you seen apprenticeships grow at Midwestern? 

00:05:35 Schroeder 

They've grown huge. Midwestern Mechanical started their own apprenticeship around 2010, I believe, and it's really just growing. We've invested huge into it. We see the we see the positive from it. We get better trained employees out of it, we get more loyal employees out of it because they see what we're investing in them. So it's really helped us out as far as getting quality people and just loyal people. So while we're investing a lot, we're really getting more back in return. 

00:06:10 Lynch 

Helping your workforce development, sort of the grow your own campaign that South Dakota has become a champion for. OK, so you're no stranger to apprenticeship. So you have your own apprenticeship journey, correct? 

00:06:11 Schroeder 

Yep, exactly. 

00:06:20 Schroeder 

Correct. I started out in 2005 after I graduated again, not knowing really what I wanted to do. 

00:06:28 Schroeder 

Unlike Christian, I didn't have an internship. I just again had a friend in the industry and I took a chance and I ended up loving it. So I started out as an apprentice like every one does in the field. I went to class, I did the required stuff that I needed. 

00:06:47 Schroeder 

Four years passed. I passed the apprenticeship program. I became a journeyman and multiple states, the city I really just made a really great career out of it and again, it all starts from the bottom starting as an apprentice. So I've got to see the whole journey and now I get to teach the apprenticeship and run the apprenticeship program. So it's kind of a cool feeling to see it all and knowing that I've been through it. So I know what these people are going through. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yep. 

00:07:16 Lynch 

You can call them kids. So kid, aren't you? You'll take kid for a little bit. 

00:07:21 Lynch 

That's great to see kind of that full journey from remembering what it was like for you going into that and not really knowing right kind of betting on yourself more than anything else and putting in the work and then being able to be the apprenticeship coordinator and education coordinator for your business, which is fantastic. Why are you an apprenticeship champion? 

00:07:29 Schroeder 

Exactly. Yep. 

00:07:41 Lynch 

And what roles do you serve? Maybe championing apprenticeship throughout the state. 

00:07:45 Schroeder 

Well, like I said, I just being through it myself, I know where it can take you and I just know. 

00:07:52 Schroeder 

What a great experience apprenticeships are and how well they prepare you for your career. So the more people I can get into it, the more I can preach to anybody who wants to listen about the positive effects of going through an apprenticeship program. I mean, there's, there's no debt. Again, you're learning your trade at a high. 

00:08:13 Schroeder 

Efficiency and and it's free. The training itself is free, so really there's almost no downfalls to it so just being able to preach that and let people know there's other options because. 

00:08:28 Schroeder 

That to me seems like a big problem. Is just knowing there's not a lot of people that know exactly what an apprenticeship is or what it's about. So I just like informing people what that really is all about and what it entails. 

00:08:41 Lynch 

So you get to serve on the Department of Labor as community of practice, correct? Can you talk maybe a little bit about what that group is and what you do? 

00:08:48 Schroeder 

Yep, so the community of practice South Dakota has really itself tried to help apprenticeship programs and really fuel apprenticeship programs. 

00:08:59 Schroeder 

Their purpose behind that is obviously to get more just like Midwestern Mechanical they're trying to get more employees, more skilled employees and more loyal employees that are going to stay in South Dakota. 

00:09:12 Schroeder 

So through that, through more funding by the state, we have the COP, which really just helps the Department of Labor and how they're going to disperse those funds and ramp up apprenticeships and help out apprenticeships, both new apprenticeships and existing apprenticeships. Again, like I said, Midwestern Mechanical puts a lot into our apprenticeship financially, so having any help. 

00:09:41 Schroeder 

Helps an existing company like ourselves further our apprenticeship program and kind of move it along in the technology phase and different phases because it's always like any business, it's always evolving so. 

00:09:56 Lynch 

There's always costs. It's always changing. 

00:09:58 Schroeder 

Correct. So the COP is just there to help the Department of Labor understand. Really, the industries different industries, because the COP has represented from all different walks, whether that's education, healthcare, construction. 

00:10:13 Schroeder 

So it's a nice blend of people who have all been in and involved with apprenticeships, and we're really just guiding the Department of Labor and helping them along. 

00:10:23 Lynch 

Fantastic. So yeah, the Harrisburg High School program wouldn't exist without funds from Department of Labor and the start today, SD Grant. So we were recipients of a $35,000 grant to launch our first registered youth apprenticeship and landscape management and Horticulture technician, which I think maybe we just missed. Christian, I think that may have been of interest to you if you were in high school. 

00:10:42 Lynch 

At the time when we still had that, but I'm glad you found an apprenticeship program that works for. 

00:10:47 Schroeder 

We're glad as well. 

00:10:50 Lynch 

It is fun. I get to bump into Cody at different events and things and career fairs and events around the community, and it's fun to build the relationships with people and I think that's one thing that I've seen through the apprenticeship programs at a lot of our local businesses are just the relationships that are are being built. So Christian, I'm going to pull you in here. 

00:11:10 Lynch 

And just can you tell us how apprenticeship has been going, maybe some of the highlights and also maybe a challenge you've had to overcome? 

00:11:18 Heerde 

Absolutely. So I've been in the apprenticeship for just about two years now. On February 21st marks my two year date with Midwest. 

00:11:29 Heerde 

And I can say that the first year was pretty slow going when it's comes to like learning everything because it, I mean it's a. 

00:11:38 Heerde 

Process learning all the different steps of everything because there's so much stuff to learn because it's not just, oh, go unclog a toilet, it's anything to do with plumbing, whether that be oxygen, gas, Med gas, like anything you can think of that gets you. 

00:11:57 Heerde 

Air, water, or any of that stuff, we have something to. 

00:12:00 Heerde 

Do with it and so that first you I think the biggest challenge is. 

00:12:06 Heerde 

In taking as much information as possible and like holding it. 

00:12:13 Heerde 

I think having that much information thrown at you at once was a lot. 

00:12:18 Heerde 

Throughout the processing and being in the fab shop for a long time kind of helped me throughout the processes of learning how to do the thing. When I finally went out into the field was able to put all the things together and it went together a lot faster for me for so I I think for the last year or so. 

00:12:41 Heerde 

It's been amazing. I really understand what's going on. I'm learning a ton. I'm learning a ton about stuff that I wouldn't ever have. 

00:12:52 Heerde 

Known anything about prior to if I didn't ask? 

00:12:57 Heerde 

It's. I don't know. She's amazing. Everyone's helpful. 

00:13:00 Heerde 

Everyone wants the best for you, so. 

00:13:02 Lynch 

That's great. There's a sign when we get to go to Southeast Tech, and I know you've been in that area too, Cody. Where it's it says “plumbers protect the health of America.” And that is something that I would have never considered if I would not have taken multiple groups of high school students through there for different opportunities and learning experiences. And when you start to think about the. 

00:13:23 Lynch 

Impact of skilled trades, positions and what they truly mean to communities. Being able just to function safely on a day-to-day basis. It's crazy. 

00:13:31 Schroeder 

Exactly. Yep. 

00:13:33 Lynch 

So are you starting to realize that impact that that you have Christian? 

00:13:36 Heerde 

Oh, absolutely. Like, it's been crazy. So currently I'm on a job where we're doing a clinic side for Sanford. We did 4 levels of parking garage and then we're doing a clinic. I never really even fathom how much stuff we actually have to do with it like of your career? 

00:13:54 Heerde 

Like in doctor's office, like medical guest stuff and saying how much stuff there is that we actually touch like. 

00:14:03 Heerde 

It's it's pretty incredible, actually. 

00:14:05 Lynch 

Cody, can you help frame that? Maybe for some of our listeners because I don't think I probably understand the true scope of what the plumbing position, you know as an occupation like all of the different things that you impact. Can you help maybe frame that for? 

00:14:20 Schroeder 

Us, yes. So the plumbing obviously the standard everyone knows, sinks, toilets, water, all that stuff. But the heating systems are done by us. The cooling systems are don't work without. 

00:14:36 Schroeder 

Was like he was saying the medical gas. So any the gas that runs, the booms in the surgery rooms, the oxygen that keeps people alive in the hospitals, plumbers Plumb all of that. So. 

00:14:54 Schroeder 

Again, you're on oxygen and you're being saved. It's a plumber who did that and. 

00:15:00 Schroeder 

That, to me, was the big shocker too. I mean, when I was plumbing out that a lot that I did was my guess. So yeah, you take a huge pride in that because again, you are affecting somebody’s health and you're affecting their ability to live. So it's a big responsibility and we do so much and there's so much more that we do. We do in floor heat on projects we do to think of all we do is hard to do. It's so much. 

00:15:28 Lynch 

Great. No, that's very helpful. Yeah. 

00:15:30 Heerde 

It's so broad. I mean, really. 

00:15:33 Lynch 

And I think that's something that probably doesn't get shared often is the fact that so many different skilled trades, positions and companies really overlap industries, right? You're going into healthcare, you're going into restaurants, you're going into commercial office properties. Obviously, we know there's the residential side of plumbing. 

00:15:52 Lynch 

I think that's a story that helps young people like Christian understand like, this is something you chose to do. It started to click for you. It made a lot of sense. But not only earning money and being able to pay bills as we were talking about before. You know, that's great. But the impact you have on community. 

00:16:10 Heerde 

Yeah. Also, it's a big pride thing. I mean, if you're prideful about what you do, it helps go into work every day going to work, knowing that you're doing something that's going to be there for a long time and going to help people. 

00:16:20 Heerde 

I mean. 

00:16:21 Lynch 

It's nice. Yeah. I got gotten to know your mom a little bit over time. And if you don't know, Linda is a member of our school board, which is just fantastic. But it's really fun. I get to run into her at different things, too, and it's fun to hear the updates. Christian, she says, hey, I got it. You know, every other day coming home from work, Christian gives me a phone call, gives me an update about what he's doing and different things and. 

00:16:44 Lynch 

I think hearing how proud she is of you and taking next steps in life and being successful is part of a rewarding part of what I get to do every day to do so, starting at the, you know, internship role and then watching you guys all leave us. It's like a bunch of baby birds, right, Cody, they leave the nest eventually, which is really fun. That's fantastic. 

00:16:52 

Yeah, absolutely. 

00:16:59 Schroeder 

Yep. Yep, exactly. 

00:17:04 Lynch 

Cody, you guys do a lot of different partnering with internships, career fairs, college fairs, different things around the community, why partner with local school districts, either K12 or the technical schools? 

00:17:15 Schroeder 

Again, it's just to get the message out there. Just let kids know that there's other options. 

00:17:22 Schroeder 

A lot of them just might not know about it, so I want to be as many places I can be and showing as many options to different people as I can. Just so one person may try it and they may love it and it might turn into their forever career and that's kind of the goal of it is just to bring awareness of. 

00:17:43 Schroeder 

Other options that there are out there. 

00:17:45 Lynch 

Yeah. And I think that's huge. I think the internship program opened Christians eyes to possibilities of apprenticeship. Now that you know about apprenticeship, Christian, what would you tell high school students? Maybe that are are like you. 

00:17:54 

I've I've. 

00:17:56 Heerde 

I've recommended multiple people that I know are still in high school that. 

00:17:58 Lynch 

Thank you. Please do. 

00:18:01 Heerde 

I'm like. 

00:18:02 Heerde 

It it's it's it's a good deal. I mean it's a free deal. They set you up with tools to start. It's all that auto deducted out of your paycheck so you don't actually have to pay anything up front, which is amazing because there's not a lot of companies that do that, like starting out, setting you up to do your job. Everything you need is given, and that's amazing. 

00:18:24 Schroeder 

So with that, I think one of the things Christian learned about apprenticeships is. 

00:18:32 Schroeder 

That him, while being in high school may not have loved academics so much. The apprenticeship, while we do do classroom stuff, it's beneficial to your job and it's not as bad as one would think. An apprenticeship would be. I think you told me a story about what his mom said about his schooling and his change in attitude. 

00:18:52 Lynch 

Yeah, yeah. 

00:18:54 Lynch 

We're not throwing you under the bus, Christian. It was all out of caring, it's fine. 

00:18:59 Heerde 

I got the phone call th right after. 

00:19:01 Lynch 

I'm sure you did. Yep. 

00:19:05 Lynch 

But you know, I think that's true and I think it speaks to, I mean the community that we've developed here in Harrisburg and just the care we have for students. I mean, whether it was you going into an apprenticeship program into plumbing or students going into healthcare or education, I think if the thing I have learned and advocated and tried to come get across to our intern. 

00:19:25 Lynch 

Cohorts is I can't read your mind, but if you come and ask, help, whether it's your classroom teacher, your administrator, or your counselor myself in this role, somebody you know, if if not your parent or whoever, I mean, if it's a loving, trusted at all, right in your life, that's what we tell you all the time. 

00:19:42 Lynch 

Ask questions and it sometimes we don't know what we need to ask, which is fine, but if you're like, hey, I just hate algebra 2, OK? 

00:19:52 Lynch 

Let's figure out a way to make to get us through Algebra 2 so we can get to do some other things. Whatever The thing is, right, or I don't like English, I don't like to write. OK, but guess what? Reading and math and writing are still going to be a part of your life. So let's figure out a way to get through the things we have to get through, because you're still going to want to master those skills because they're going to be necessary, right? You still need to use them in your apprenticeship. 

00:20:15 Lynch 

I think, Cody, you bring up a really good point of that immediately applicable knowledge, right? Yeah. 

00:20:20 Heerde 

Yeah, I think I think a lot of people think like, alright, well, it's another form of schooling. Well, you know, they they already hate the schooling that they're in. They're not going to want to go do something where it's a. 

00:20:20 Lynch 

Go ahead, Christian. 

00:20:31 Heerde 

Trade, schooling well trade chooling is pretty laid back. I mean, everyone's around the same age, everyone's younger. We're all doing the exact same thing. We're all going through the same things. It's cool getting to see everyone talk to everyone about all the different jobs going on. Class itself is incredibly easy and like show up. 

00:20:54 Heerde 

Put forth effort and you're getting a ton out of it. 

00:20:57 Lynch 

I think I've I've taught you guys that phrase show up and do the work right. 

00:20:59 Heerde 

Yeah. I mean, it's not hard. Just pay attention. Do the lab. You're gonna get something out of it.  

Lynch 

And everybody wants you to succeed, right, Cody, whether it's your apprenticeship administrator, mechanical or healthcare, or education, whatever it be there's no benefit to a company to put kids through schooling or coursework and then have them fail. 

Right. 

00:21:18 Schroeder 

Absolutely. Yeah. Like you said, there's no reason that we would want anyone to fail. So we're going to do everything we can do to make them succeed. So. 

00:21:27 Lynch 

Absolutely. This has been great. Is there anything you would like our listeners to know or things you would like to add? 

00:21:37 Schroeder 

For my part, I would just say if you don't know what you want to do, just give internships or try give apprenticeships a try. It's a very easy way to. 

00:21:49 Schroeder 

It's where you don't have to invest, but you'll still get an insight into an industry that you're not sure if you know really you if it's something you don't like, there's not much that you've invested into it other than your time, so you can just move on to the next thing. But at least you tried it. At least, you know, at least you won't always wonder what if or I wonder you know, it's just it's an easy way to really see. 

00:22:16 Schroeder 

What does interest you in life? 

00:22:19 Lynch 

Yeah, especially without, maybe that cost of starting a technical school program or a four year college program getting the semester or two into it and then that student loan due comes due. Exactly, yeah, Christian, what would you like to share? 

00:22:31 Heerde 

If I could put anything into it, it'd be get as much exposure as possible, being able to see multiple different paths is big. 

00:22:40 Heerde 

If you don't know and have a mindset or know where you're going to college and like an idea of what you want to do, or even if you just want to go to college and you don't know what to do, maybe a trade school wouldn't be a bad thing or an apprenticeship or or an internship. Because I mean the any exposure to anything else, you can find something you love doing that you never would even thought about trying. 

00:23:00 Heerde 

I mean, it's as simple as that. 

Lynch 

 what advice do you have for high school students that maybe are, you know, junior seniors maybe don't really know what I want to do? Maybe I've schools just never been my thing. What advice do you have for them to get through it? 

00:23:18 Lynch 

And what tips do you maybe have to share? 

00:23:21 Heerde 

Put your head down and keep going. It sucks, but it gets better after you're out because you can only go work. 

00:23:30 Heerde 

Don't go to school. Yeah, I mean, if you don't know what you wanna do, don't waste the money. 

00:23:35 Lynch 

Yeah, I think that's great advice. If you're not sure, don't invest the funds into something you don't know about. 

00:23:39 Heerde 

Do an apprenticeship or an internship through a company. It doesn't have to be a trade company, it can be anything. And like there's plenty of healthcare. I know there's educational ones. I'm like. There's plenty of areas everywhere. 

00:23:51 Heerde 

Get an internship or an apprenticeship through a company for a year try it. 

00:23:56 Heerde 

See where you like it? From there go if you want to end up going to college, go for it. If you want to go through a different company and try something else, do it. But. 

00:24:05 Heerde 

If you don't know, definitely get as much exposure as possible. 

00:24:09 Lynch 

Yeah, it's never too late to change courses, right? The whole goal is have a plan and plans can change. 

00:24:12 

That's yeah. 

00:24:15 Heerde 

Oh 100%. 

00:24:16 Lynch 

But be willing to put yourself out there. 

00:24:18 Lynch 

And try something, yeah. 

00:24:19 Heerde 

Don't be scared to put yourself out on this. 

00:24:22 Heerde 

Edge I mean. 

00:24:23 Heerde 

It's not scary, it's, it's stressful, but it's not scary. 

00:24:28 Lynch 

Absolutely. And there's people to support you along the way, whether it's your, your company, your family, the school district, whatever. 

00:24:31 Heerde 

100%. 

00:24:34 Heerde 

Whatever it is, there's always someone for our company. It's literally anyone you can talk to any of the guys, they're all happier there and they want you to do better because they want. 

00:24:47 Lynch 

Yeah, I saw some of your apprenticeship graduates in November and they were super excited, which is fantastic. 

00:24:54 Lynch 

Talk just briefly, maybe about that celebration that was held in Pierre, yes. So we celebrated some of our past apprentices that went on to get their journeyman license, and that's the goal in the trades, is to get your journeyman's license. It opens the doors for you as far as. 

00:25:10 Schroeder 

Getting higher positions is that either being a foreman or running a job so really, that's the end goal is being a journeyman so that's a big pride thing is, when you finally get that Journeyman's license and for them to be noticed is just extra. 

00:25:26 Schroeder 

Good. On top of it because they they worked really hard apprenticeship while it's easy. 

00:25:32 Schroeder 

And the classroom aspect of it, there is still a lot of work in it as well. There is a lot that goes into the classroom and the lab portion of it, but it's rewarding. You're getting that paycheck, you're furthering your career, you're make, you're setting yourself up to be in a better place. So when you finally get that Journeyman's license, all that hard work has paid off. And yeah, it's just a great feeling and it again sets you up for a really great career and a great path again, it's just confirming that commitment and and showing people that believing in yourself and betting on yourself will always pay dividends. 

00:26:09 Lynch 

Well, thanks so much for joining me guys. I really appreciate this conversation and if you're interested in learning more about a registered apprenticeship or registered youth apprenticeship programs, you can check out our website at the Harrisburg High School. We will also link to Midwestern Mechanicals apprenticeship program if that is of interest to you as well. We hope you enjoyed this episode of the 412 podcast celebrating CTE success stories. Thanks Christian. Thanks. 

00:26:33 Heerde 

Cody, thank you.