The Apprentice Perspective

Antonio Gomez & Jalissa Jones
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Apprenticeships are on the rise in Illinois. These programs help businesses build the high-skill talent they need while offering Illinoisans a pathway to long-term, family-sustaining careers in high-demand fields—often without the need for a four-year degree. The Apprentice Perspective podcast features conversations with apprentices and work-based learning leaders about the impact of apprenticeship on Illinois workers and businesses, as well as emerging innovations in work-based learning across the state. The show highlights the stories of participants in the Apprentice Ambassador Program and recipients of the WBLA Catalysts Initiative. The Apprentice Ambassador Program brings together a yearly cohort of outstanding current or former apprentices representing a wide range of industries and communities across Illinois. During their year in the program, Apprentice Ambassadors serve as guest speakers at business engagement events, sharing how apprenticeship has shaped their careers, supported their families, and strengthened their companies. This podcast brings those stories directly to you. Each episode also features a guest host who is a leader in business, government, or workforce development. The WBLA Catalysts Initiative recognizes innovative and high-quality work-based learning programs across Illinois. Award recipients share their best practices through a toolkit on Illinois WorkNet designed to help scale successful models and turn effective local solutions into statewide standards. Join us to hear the stories of people who chose a nontraditional path to a family-sustaining career—and to explore the future of work-based learning in Illinois. Disclaimer: This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the contractor and does not necessarily reflect the official position of DOL. DOL makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    "K.I.S.S. Principle" - John Hall & Patrick Hall

    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.

  2. Jul 13

    "Being the Voice I Didn't Have" - Christina Harms & Steve Lefaver

    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.

  3. Jul 3

    "Find What Clicks" - Jarrod Gayheart & Zackary Thurman

    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.

  4. Jun 17

    “The Door that I Was Looking For” - Beril Mese & Taylor Black

    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.

  5. Jun 3

    "More than Just a Way to Get to Work" - Revolution Workshop & Sheryl Morris

    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.

  6. May 1

    "Seven Days to Kick-Start Your Career" - Elgin Community College & Danielle Kuglin-Seago

    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.

  7. Apr 27

    "A Slingshot Opportunity" - Gavin Carman & John Barr

    Gavin Carman, a Second Year Client Services Apprentice at Aon in Bannockburn, Illinois, spent a lot of time thinking while working as a delivery person. At 25, he knew the career path he was on wasn’t sustainable, but he had already tried schooling in a more traditional way. A Google search led him to an apprenticeship, where he found the opportunity he had been searching for, one where he could not only earn and learn at the same time but also develop the skills to thrive and become someone people looked to to problem solve. He is joined in conversation by John Barr, Workforce Development Manager with the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, who finds that time and time again, the answer to finding and keeping talent is apprenticeship.  Gavin and John discuss the “slingshot” opportunity of Gavin’s apprenticeship, having to take a few steps back to leap forward, and how apprenticeship is shaping the workforce today and tomorrow.  To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn.

  8. Apr 20

    "You Have to Be the Catalyst for Yourself" - Sania Kamani & Debra Lawrence

    Sania Kamani, a Second Year Apprentice in the Claims Admin Department at Zurich North America in Schaumburg, Illinois, set her sights on apprenticeship in high school. Though discouraged at first, through determination and drive she graduated high school with honors and entered the apprenticeship program, where she found community, mentorship, and gained experience. Kamani is a member of the 2026 Illinois Apprentice Ambassador cohort. Joining Sania is Debra Lawrence, Director of Business Services for Business and Career Services at the American Job Center in Wheeling, Illinois, who is working on the ground to expand the apprenticeship model.   Their conversation explores what it means to be an apprentice and what it looks like for business and families, especially those making the transition from high school to working.   To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn.

  9. Mar 10

    "You Belong Where You Are" - John Williams & Andrew Warrington

    John Williams, a Senior Analyst at Accenture in Chicago, had to convince his parents that he had a job when he joined a paid apprenticeship at age 19. Little did they know that this position would give him the training, mentorship, and camaraderie he needed to thrive. Williams is a member of the 2026 cohort of Illinois Apprentice Ambassadors. He is joined in conversation by Co-Chair of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board (IWIB) and CEO of UCC Environmental, Andrew Warrington, who reflects on how his own apprenticeship experience in the U.K. inspired him to help expand apprenticeship presence in the U.S. after emigrating here 27 years ago. What they both found is that the best of the best feel imposter syndrome. If you push through, you'll find that "you belong where you are."  To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn.

  • 9 Episodes

About

Apprenticeships are on the rise in Illinois. These programs help businesses build the high-skill talent they need while offering Illinoisans a pathway to long-term, family-sustaining careers in high-demand fields—often without the need for a four-year degree. The Apprentice Perspective podcast features conversations with apprentices and work-based learning leaders about the impact of apprenticeship on Illinois workers and businesses, as well as emerging innovations in work-based learning across the state. The show highlights the stories of participants in the Apprentice Ambassador Program and recipients of the WBLA Catalysts Initiative. The Apprentice Ambassador Program brings together a yearly cohort of outstanding current or former apprentices representing a wide range of industries and communities across Illinois. During their year in the program, Apprentice Ambassadors serve as guest speakers at business engagement events, sharing how apprenticeship has shaped their careers, supported their families, and strengthened their companies. This podcast brings those stories directly to you. Each episode also features a guest host who is a leader in business, government, or workforce development. The WBLA Catalysts Initiative recognizes innovative and high-quality work-based learning programs across Illinois. Award recipients share their best practices through a toolkit on Illinois WorkNet designed to help scale successful models and turn effective local solutions into statewide standards. Join us to hear the stories of people who chose a nontraditional path to a family-sustaining career—and to explore the future of work-based learning in Illinois. Disclaimer: This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the contractor and does not necessarily reflect the official position of DOL. DOL makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it.

Information

  • Creator
    Antonio Gomez & Jalissa Jones
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Apprentice Perspective
  • Show Website
    The Apprentice Perspective