New apprenticeship school draws students to Savannah River Site careers

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Students attending area technical colleges can now participate in the new Apprenticeship School at the Savannah River Site created by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.

In addition to getting paid, SRS apprentices gain job-related experience, network to obtain job references and test drive occupations of their choosing while pursuing college degrees, according to a news release.

A team of employees from SRNS, the Savannah River National Laboratory and liquid waste contractor Savannah River Mission Completion are working together to quickly grow and enhance the school. Generally, apprentices will be recruited twice each year to start school in January or in the fall.

Aiken Technical College and Denmark Technical College are currently participating in the school, according to the release.

“We’re in the process of developing a program with Augusta Technical College and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College and recruiting a cohort of students from those colleges for the fall of this year,” said Dorian Newton, the SRNS Apprenticeship School Program manager.

Newton said SRNS is also looking at increasing the number of maintenance mechanic and laboratory technician apprenticeships at the Site later in the year.

Denmark Technical College’s Dean of Industrial & Related Technologies Hadi Hamid said the school fits in with Denmark Tech’s mission to help students get careers in a wide range of industries.

 “The innovative Apprenticeship School concept, developed by SRNS, perfectly aligns with our mission and strategy,” Hamid said. “It has already generated extensive interest across our campus. We are excited to see the potential of this program fulfilled and are grateful for the investment SRNS continues to make in our small, rural HBCU.”

Adam Smith, an SRNS Apprenticeship School Program lead, said the program is focused on outreach to prospective students.

“We actively meet with high school counselors and students at various types of career fairs, in addition to partnering with county career center personnel,” Smith said. “We want to be proactive towards informing as many high school students as possible regarding all we have to offer in meeting their long-term occupational needs.”

In a significant achievement for SRNS, the U.S. Department of Labor recently approved the SRNS Project Controls Apprenticeship, a first of its kind in the U.S. Department of Energy complex.

Information on the Apprenticeship School at SRS is available online.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor-led company with Newport News Nuclear and Honeywell, is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site located near Aiken, South Carolina.