GUC has kicked off its fifth year of participating in the local program, Tradesformers. On May 23rd, the program hosted a signing event at the Kathy Taft Center for Excellence and Leadership in Education to welcome all new Pre-apprentices in Pitt County.  

Tradesformers is a youth apprenticeship program designed to connect high school students with growing industry trades in our area. The program was started by local trades companies to address skills needs and gaps. Industry and program partners like GUC work closely with Pitt County Schools, Pitt Community College, and other community partners to identify and foster student interest in the trades. 

Signing on with our Electric Department for its fifth year participating is Braxton White, rising senior at D.H. Conley High School, and Jacob Johnson, rising senior at North Pitt High School. Fleet Maintenance is in its second year with the program. Alex Allen, rising senior with Ayden-Grifton High School, signed on with Fleet. And signing on as the Wastewater Treatment Plant’s first Pre-apprentice is Porter Harris, rising senior with D.H. Conley High School.  

Students who join this program gain on-the-job training and related classroom instruction while also earning a base pay rate and learning valuable skills to advance in their field of interest. To be a part of the Tradesformers program, students must be high school juniors and go through an application and selection process. Once in the program, students can apply to work as Pre-apprentices at participating companies the summer before their senior school year. Throughout their senior year, Pre-apprentices can continue to work 10-20 hours a week.  

Pre-apprentices in the Tradesformers program may be eligible for training and educational funding from the NC Apprenticeship Expansion funds both during and after high school graduation. 

In addition, Pre-apprentice Lineworkers have the opportunity to enroll in Nash or Martin Community Colleges’ Electric Line Construction Academy. This is a 16-week program where students can earn a Third-Class Line Construction Certificate. Upon completion of the program, the Apprentice Lineworker is eligible to begin a one-year internship at GUC and can apply for employment at GUC should a position become available. 

Help us welcome Braxton, Jacob, Alex, and Porter as our newest Pre-apprentices!