Governor Rickett’s Highlight’s Nebraska’s Apprenticeship

This week is National Apprenticeship Week, and during Governor Pete Ricketts’ trade mission to Germany, he is highlighting Nebraska’s German-style apprenticeship program.

Thursday, Ricketts visited the international headquarters of CLAAS during his trade mission to Germany. CLAAS, a prominent manufacturer of agricultural equipment, located its North American headquarters in Omaha.

“Apprenticeships are key to helping connect the next generation of Nebraskans to great opportunities,” said Gov. Ricketts. “The German-style apprenticeship program launched by CLAAS takes apprenticeship programming in Nebraska to the next level. We look forward to seeing this program flourish, and hope to expand it in the coming years with additional companies.”

Earlier this year, CLAAS become one of the first two companies to launch Nebraska’s first Industry Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (ICATT) Apprenticeship Program, designed for high-tech manufacturers and companies with complex technologies or logistics.

The ICATT Apprenticeship Program is draws from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Registered Apprenticeship system and is also certified to the standards of the famed German Dual Education System.

In Nebraska, there are currently over 120 RA programs in Nebraska and 4,696 Registered Apprentices, including over 3,700 new apprentices in 2019.