The Apprentice Perspective

Peter Tobin, a Bachelor Apprentice at Zurich North America, left the United States Marines at 22, feeling like he was starting over. Like many veterans, he felt he was behind his peers and needed to catch up. He considered other career paths before he began studying Computer Science at Harper College, just two weeks after leaving the military. He hadn’t known it was possible to have an apprenticeship in the tech field until he came across the Zurich apprenticeship program and knew it would be what he needed to accelerate his career. 

David Jaeger, Program and Operations Lead for Apprenticeship at Zurich North America, also joined Zurich through the apprenticeship program. Now, on the other side, he shares what Zurich looks for in potential apprentices and how Zurich uplifts the apprenticeship model. 

Peter and David discuss how their similar paths in apprenticeship, how apprentices have stood the test of time, and how apprenticeship is a great path forward for other veterans looking for their next opportunity. 

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

Claudia Uribe, Youth Career Specialist Project Lead at Lake County Workforce Board, is all about breaking barriers. After getting her degree in psychology, Claudia started working with people with disabilities, teaching young adults career readiness skills. She transitioned into the workforce development space a little over ten years ago, but only just recently participated in an apprenticeship in Youth Development Practitioner, wanting to further her career and advocacy, but wasn’t in a position to return to school. With support from her managers, Claudia took what she calls “the best opportunity knocking at my Door.”

Julio Rodriguez, Deputy Director, Office of Employment and Training (OET) at the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO), also has a background in youth development, running a program in his neighborhood and at his former high school. 

Claudia and Julio discuss feeling supported at work, mentorships, and how to shift the conversation around youth workforce development.

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

Ashley Sosa, a Project and Program Management Consultant with Allstate, knows how to “make it work.” Ashley was working in the non-profit sector and knew she wanted more, but wasn’t sure what more was. After getting an email about an apprenticeship opportunity with Allstate, she took a leap of faith and transitioned to Allstate—but she didn’t stop there. Ashley decided to get her bachelor’s and soon her master’s at the same time, balancing a full-time job with a full load of classes. 

Craig Schmidt is the Assistant Vice President in the School of Extended Learning at Governors State University and the co-chair of the Apprentice Ambassador workgroup. Craig didn’t know much about apprenticeship until midway in his career. Now, he works with businesses to implement apprenticeship programs in areas such as healthcare, CDL, and information technology and more. 

Ashley and Craig talk about balancing work and school, making sacrifices to achieve your goals, and how to raise apprenticeship awareness in underserved communities. 

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

Johana Caballero already worked at EduCare West DuPage when she decided to join their apprenticeship to reach her goal of getting her associate’s degree in early childhood. With her two sons, she had to figure out ways to make this new routine work for them. More importantly, Johana had to get comfortable with using the support of her mentors and her family, who were eager to help her on this journey. Now, she has her associate’s and is a Teacher’s Assistant, a testament to her endurance and creativity in finding ways to work, study, and be present for her sons. 

When you think of apprenticeships, would you assume that early childhood education is one of the occupations you could go into? If not, join us to hear Whitney Thompson, Deputy Director for Workforce Education at the Illinois Community College Board, and Johana Caballero discuss their shared experiences with on-the-job learning in education apprenticeships. 

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

Patrick Hall didn’t know what he wanted to do when he was in college. He tried accounting before falling into a job with Joliet Junior College, and after almost a decade, he is now the Manager of Work-Based Learning and Outreach. Patrick describes his role as one that “fills his cup,” finding fulfillment in helping students navigate their early career experience. Patrick’s dedication and passion for his work were what led his brother, John Hall, to his role as a Business Service Supervisor at the Workforce Investment Board of Will County. After school, John tried working in sales before Patrick heard about an opening as a Business Service Liaison and encouraged him to apply. 

The Workforce Investment Board of Will County, one of the American Job Centers in Illinois, is supported by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and provides free career support for job seekers and gives businesses a touchpoint to reskill and grow their current workforce. Together with the workforce development division of Joliet Junior College, they aim to collaborate to maximize the resources they have to help Will County find and keep family-sustaining careers.

You can hear more about all things workforce in Will County on the Will Works Podcast, hosted by Patrick Hall, available on all streaming platforms.  

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

Christina Harms, a union painter with Mid-Illinois Company, grew up around the trades. Her father was a union laborer and had been on jobsites since she was young, but recalls never seeing a woman on-site. After attending college twice, first for Early Childhood Education, allowing her to run her own day care and take care of her children when they were small, and later for Medical Billing and Coding, which led to an office job. She realized she needed to be doing something with her hands. She knew a third round of college wasn’t the answer and finally looked into the union trades, joined an apprenticeship, and never looked back. Through apprenticeship, Christina is no longer just getting by, she is leading the way.

Steve Lefaver is the Director of Apprenticeship and Training at the North Central Finishing Trades Institute. Steve came to the trades out of high school, entering a painting apprenticeship, and after completing it, became a journey worker. At a local meeting, he learned about a teaching opportunity and decided to give it a chance. He taught for years before becoming the director of Apprenticeship and Training.

Christina and Steve discuss the lack of education around apprenticeship, especially to those just entering the workforce, how Christina deals with the challenge of being a woman in a male-dominated field and finding community in the trades, and how representation and diversity in trades apprenticeship is building a pipeline to the future workforce. 

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

In this episode of The Apprentice Perspective, it’s Ambassador on Ambassador. Jarrod Gayheat, a Service Tech with Birkey’s, talks with Zack Thurman, A Precision Farming Specialist, with Birkey’s. Zack is a 2025 alumni of the Apprentice Ambassador program while Jarrod is a current Apprentice Ambassador. After graduating high school Jarrod worked for a couple different companies before eventually experiencing burnout. He looked up Birkey’s after seeing one of their vehicles that he describes as “billboards on wheels.” After meeting with a recruiter and getting a tour, he knew Birkey’s apprenticeship was what he wanted to do and has been happy with his choice. Zack, who was recently promoted, didn’t come from a farming background, but after speaking with his high school counselor Birkey’s was the obvious choice. Jarrod and Zack discuss finding what clicked, making it on their own, balancing schoolwork and their apprenticeships, and how Birkey’s has supported them through the process.

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

Beril Mese, a second year Service Analyst apprentice at Allstate, originally studied music. She realized after graduating that the only path forward was academia and knew that wasn’t where she wanted to be. During her twenties she took a series of customer service jobs before pivoting to technology after teaching herself to code during the pandemic. She knew she was on the right path then but ran into a new problem: an oversaturated tech market and no tangible qualifications. So she went back to school, studying computer engineering and through City Colleges of Chicago found the earn and learn opportunity with Allstate she was searching for. Taylor Black, a former car salesperson, was tired of the grind and watching life pass him by found an apprenticeship with RPC. Though he struggled with the transition into a government role, he soon found his footing thanks to a mentor. 

Beril and Taylor bond over their shared journeys as apprentices and being valued as a person, not just an employee. They explore how not only the apprenticeship model looks different, how mentorship changed their apprenticeships, and how apprenticeships are investments in the future of workforce. 

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

Revolution Workshop is a nonprofit out of Chicago that is truly living up to its name. It began as a way to help Black and Brown people, and in particular women, enter construction and earn family-sustaining wages. What they realized was the issue of unemployment for underserved Chicago communities went deeper than just trying to find a job. Many of the clients they worked with had the same hurdle–transportation. So, they set out to do something about that. 

In this special episode of The Apprentice Perspective, Sheryl Morris, CEO of Avail Yourself Consulting Group and Co-Chair of WBLA’s Apprentice Ambassador workgroup, interviews three members of the Revolution Workshops’ leadership team: Manny Rodriguez (Co-Founder & Executive Director), Jackie Gallo (Sr. Program Director), and Jasmine Thomas (Career Growth Director) about their revolutionary program “RWheels” which not only teaches their clients the financial literacy skills to buy a car, but eases them into the process by setting up savings accounts for the client to contribute to, and partnering with local banks to provide non-predatory loans backed by Revolution Workshop and how this program is bridging gaps in workforce in underserved communities. 

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

The WBLA Catalysts Initiative is an award bestowed by the Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship Committee of the IWIB to recognize excellence in work-based learning programming. 

Meet the inaugural winners of this award, Elgin Community College (ECC), represented by Dr. Gina De rosier-Cook, Dean of Workforce Development, and Elissa Kojzarek, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Experiential Learning (SPEL). They are joined by Danielle Kuglin-Seago of the College of DuPage to discuss the two factors that earned them this distinction: their "intrusive coordination" approach to business engagement and their "seven days to kick-start your career" pre-apprenticeship program. 

This episode marks the end of our National Apprenticeship Week series for this season, and we hope that you will join us in celebrating apprentices everywhere with us in Illinois.

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn.