Facilities Services apprenticeships grow talent from within

Thanks to the Finance and Operations Apprenticeship Program at UNC-Chapel Hill, Alex Escobedo is on his way to a career as a licensed carpenter. Escobedo is one of three Facilities Services apprentices — two in carpentry and one in life safety — helping to pilot the program.

Participants learn a valuable trade from experienced Carolina staff members while earning a salary and benefits from the University and knowledge about their field through part-time studies at local community colleges. Each apprenticeship lasts from two to four years, depending on the skills being learned, and is registered with the state of North Carolina and the U.S. Department of Labor. Once Escobedo and his peers successfully complete their apprenticeships, they can move into a journey-level position at Carolina.

Alan Moran, a facilities construction administrator/project coordinator, first suggested the idea of an apprentice program at a UNC-Chapel Hill Employee Forum meeting in November 2018. Moran served an apprenticeship as a carpenter/joiner in his native Ireland more than 30 years ago.

In 2020, a working group with staff from Facilities Services, the Finance and Operations Service Center of Excellence and the Office of Human Resources began to explore best practices for apprenticeship programs and identify potential skilled trades opportunities within Facilities. In 2023, Layna Johnson became the apprenticeship program coordinator in the service center’s continuous improvement, staff development and engagement office. Finance and Operations opened the program to all its departments this fall.

For the apprenticeship’s academic component, Johnson partners with local community colleges and Apprenticeship NC, a unit of the North Carolina Community College System. “From Day 1, we talk to our apprentices about helping them get their certificate or their associate’s degree but also their journeyworker’s card, the credential that is important out in the real world,” Johnson said.

Escobedo works with Carpentry Shop Supervisor David Sichi to learn how to operate a board bander machine at the UNC Carpentry Shop. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

“We want our apprentices to succeed, especially since our goal is to keep these people as our employees,” Johnson said. “Growing our own workforce is going to be paramount to the survival of the trades. Our aging workforce is a reality and one of the best ways to fill vacancies is from within our organization.”

Wendy Halsey, associate vice chancellor for Facilities Services, agrees. “Skilled tradespeople are at a premium these days,” she said. “When you bring in young people with new ideas and energy, and you train them and teach them, it is the best way to build an expert workforce. To continue to provide top-notch facilities, we must think about our workforce and its health, and that includes bringing in and retaining new talent.”

In the near term, Halsey hopes to expand the program into more trades within Facilities Services and to work with the local community colleges to develop the employee pipeline outside of the program. She looks forward to having graduates of the program working in her department as full-time employees and serving as mentors to new apprentices.

“Apprenticeships work well when folks can pay forward their training as we bring on new apprentices,” she said.

Escobedo is a fan of the program, which takes him to new sites and new jobs every day where he can learn carpentry and work with his hands. “For me, this apprenticeship is life changing,” he said. “As someone new and young, what stands out to me is how welcoming and helpful everybody is. This job opens so many opportunities to me.”

Read more about the apprenticeship program.

Thanks to the Finance and Operations Apprenticeship Program, Alex Escobedo is on his way to a career as a licensed carpenter. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)