This year, 2024, marks 10 years of raising awareness and celebrating “National Apprenticeship Week.” Apprenticeships are an effective approach for South Dakotans to gain on-the-job training plus classroom instruction to earn a nationally recognized credential while continuing to earn a living for their family. In the last two years, we have taken apprenticeships to a whole new level in our state.

A year and a half ago, Governor Kristi Noem invested just under $8 million to increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities available in South Dakota. Since this investment, South Dakota has significantly increased the number of programs available, growing from 102 programs to 145. Nearly 300 South Dakota businesses have inquired about starting a registered apprenticeship program. And 50 new programs are in development. I’m so proud of my team who has put in the hard work to make this happen.

I want to give an example of one profession that has especially benefited from apprenticeships and is near and dear to my heart: teaching. Just like my grandmother and mother before me, I was trained to be a teacher. However, the options to get there look quite different today.

In many recent years, teachers have been hard-to-fill positions with some of the highest number of job openings in South Dakota. To address this need, the Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) worked with the Department of Education and our post-secondary education partners to launch a Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway.

The Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway keeps costs low for current paraeducators as they continue to gain work-based learning experience combined with technical instruction to become licensed teachers. The program allows individuals to earn and learn while staying in their home community. All coursework is offered virtually at convenient times, so participants can continue to work while enrolled. School districts provide a local mentor to support the apprentices throughout the process. Northern State University and Dakota State University offer the necessary coursework over a two-year period to earn a bachelor’s degree in education, as well as a teaching certificate.

This pathway has already achieved great results. 88 participants joined the program in the first year. More than 90% of these teacher apprentices are sticking with the program, and 100% say they are very likely or somewhat likely to stay in South Dakota throughout their education career. That will make a real difference in our teacher workforce well into the future. And thanks to support from the legislature, this effort is expanding as a second cohort of teacher apprentices began this fall.

Our first graduate of the Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway, Kandy Flowers, is now teaching in Wessington Springs. When she graduated, Kandy thanked everyone involved in the program and shared how she is now able to continue working with the students she has been assisting – but with the addition of her teaching certification. Kandy shared her hopes for the continued success of the Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway because “it works.”

This is but one example of the ways apprenticeships are launching careers and changing lives in South Dakota. It’s simple; apprenticeships work. And DLR is here to continue advancing apprenticeship opportunities in South Dakota for years to come. We thank Governor Noem for her support of these efforts. I can’t wait to see how opportunities continue to grow and evolve for the people of South Dakota.

Marcia Hultman is Cabinet Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.