Officials say existing time limits make it harder for students and employers to participate in workforce training.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma CareerTech officials want lawmakers to allow high school students to spend as much as half of their school day in approved apprenticeships, part of an effort to address worker shortages in the aerospace and construction industries.
CareerTech Director and CEO Brent Haken presented the proposal during a Sept. 8 House interim study requested by Rep. Kevin Norwood, R-Owasso.
Haken said state law generally limits student internships to two hours during the school day, leaving employers with too little time to provide meaningful workplace training. CareerTech also wants schools to be able to use existing course codes for apprenticeships and qualified workplace mentors to supervise students in coordination with education providers.
“We’re never going to fill the full need if we have to bring every one of them to the technology center,” Haken said.
Haken said CareerTech serves about 151,000 students through K-12 programs, but demand for technology-center programs has increased 40% since the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving some students on waiting lists.
“We have every sector of industry that is asking for more workers, and so that’s what we’re up against,” he said.
Other ideas discussed included funding regional apprenticeship coordinators, expanding technology-center capacity and increasing access to aerospace training licenses. The House summary did not identify any specific legislation resulting from the study.
The Sept. 8 interim study is available through the Oklahoma House video archive.
