Rethinking the trades

4/30/2025

Trade schools — now categorized as Career and Technical Education Programs (CTE) — encompass more than electrical, plumbing or welding. Although these trades are still popular, community colleges including Des Moines Area Community College are offering CTE programs like health administration and telecommunications that are of interest to incoming students. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the number of students enrolling in vocational-focused community colleges increased 16% from 2022 to 2023. Given the rising interest, enrollment in these programs is expected to continue to grow. 

 

Community colleges in Iowa 

Community colleges are a common venue for students to attain an affordable degree and certification in two years or less. Even with these benefits, however, a stigma against attending a community college still exists. Forbes Magazine reported in 2019 that nearly half of parents, families and students held moderately high levels of feelings against getting an education at a community college. 

Nevertheless, Iowa is seeing a 40-50% increase in high school enrollment in community college classes as well as support from initiatives like the Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship, which covers tuition for many high-demand career and technical trades.

“People are seeing that pretty much everyone needs some education beyond high school,” Emily Shields, the executive director of Community Colleges for Iowa, said. “Our economy really demands that now, but that doesn’t mean a four-year degree is for everybody, and that doesn’t mean community colleges are a lesser option. It’s just all a part of the plethora of options needed for people to find the right work for them.” 

Shields added that people are preferring careers in technical and field work because it offers flexibility in providing the opportunity to work while still being able to pursue an education. Currently, Community Colleges for Iowa oversees 15 different community colleges across the state and is constantly updating and improving their programs. 

With the increase in technology, DMACC has introduced a new AI program and Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo is working on developing an automation and robotics center. This is made possible due to every CTE having its own advisory board, which oversees the curriculum and is made up of individuals currently working in the field. 

In the Telecommunications program at DMACC, Jay Nickelson, a professor in telecommunications, attributes his students’ success to the college’s $2 million lab. The lab hosts a mock data center with real equipment so learning becomes hands on. 

“Until the (AI) robots are created that can physically install servers and fiber optics, there’s always going to be work in the maintenance of a data center,” Nickelson said. “(Telecommunications) can set you up in a career field that you may never want to leave or change paths, as long as you enjoy it. That’s the beauty of it.”

Additionally, Shields says healthcare fields are their largest enrollments in CTE. Their popularity is due to the various career paths that students can take, such as becoming a certified nurse aide, which provides one a certification rather than a degree. Another popular program for students is health administration. Emilie Noel, a professor in the program, said they train students on how to work with patients in navigating their insurance. 

“You’re not saving lives, but you’re changing lives and making that impact that has positive outcomes for the patient and their family,” Noel said. 

 

Apprenticeships through unions 

Local 33 is a plumbers and steamfitter union in Des Moines and an option for high schoolers who want a hands-on career outside of a classroom. 

Jeremy Lindquist, president and director of training and education at Local 33, said there are various ways to become a member of the union. The most common is by filling out an application form on their website to enter a selection procedure. Once an application goes through selection, they schedule an interview to determine your rank. 

“Once they have (everyone’s rank), then it’s all driven off work,” Lindquist said. “So, once you’re through there, one of our largest contractors calls and says, ‘I need five apprentices.’ We’re going to take numbers one through five and put them to work.”

Local 33 is a part of the United Association made up of 373,000 plumbers, pipefitters and HVAC technicians across the United States and Canada. This allows Local 33 to send apprentices to locations across the U.S., not only for experience but as another way to make money. Lindquist said this is primarily due to the workflow being constant with data centers from companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook popping up all over the country. Because there is so much work, Local 33 wants to affirm that anyone can be an expert in working in this industry. 

“Schools, historically, have always given the path to college. They haven’t given the path to getting into the trades. It’s our job to do outreach with these folks,” Lindquist said. 

Outreach for Local 33 starts when kids are in elementary school with kids working on crafts that get their hands moving. Then, they come back to students in the sixth grade in a more career fair setting. Finally, they come to students in high school to teach a curriculum called MC Three. MC Three is for students who do not know which trade they want to pursue. The course introduces all of the building trades to help determine what is best for the individual. 

“If you’re going to come here, there are a couple things that are going to be required of you. You have to go to work every day. We want you to show up on time every single day and be a sponge… It’s different from a traditional education, because you’re learning from somebody that has done plumbing and pipefitting their entire career. Being a sponge means listening to what they’re saying, following directions, and, if you do exactly that, show up every day, be a sponge, your career will be successful,” Lindquist said. 

 

Des Moines Electrical Apprenticeship 

The Des Moines Electrical Apprenticeship is another program for individuals interested in pursuing a career as an electrician. Students take class work and work out in the field.

“A major component of being an electrical apprentice is going to be mathematics and a physics science based knowledge,” Trevor Stevens the curriculum and outreach coordinator at Des Moines Electrical Apprenticeship, said. “The more background they have in algebra and trigonometry, the easier or the better they will do while going through the apprenticeship, because electricity in itself is very conceptual in nature. Being able to visualize and understand that information is really important.” 

Stevens said the apprenticeship is made possible by two other entities. Half of their representation is made up of members of Union Local 347, and the other half is the National Electrical Contractors Association Membership, or NECA. 

This membership allows Des Moines Electrical Apprenticeship to provide tuition-free training to its members. Forty-four percent of all their member wages goes back to the apprenticeship, and their contractor matches 1% for every hour worked by a journeyman in their field. Additionally, the apprenticeship program receives 2% of that wage. Essentially, they are able to provide free training because, over time, they are paying the program back. 

Additionally, Stevens described the apprenticeship as a first step in becoming a journeyman, which can open the doors to a wide range of career opportunities. Most apprentices, after completing the program, become an electrician; however, some become a foreman, which allows them to run job sites. 

“Baker Electric recently shared that about 90% of their project managers didn’t go to college. They were field trained,” Stevens said. “They were apprentices who understood our industry, and when you’re bidding and estimating how much a school building is going to cost to complete, from an electrical perspective, it’s not something that can be easily trained or taught at a college level.” 

Regardless of whether you want to be a journeyman or a foreman, a plethora of opportunities exist in the electrical industry. Stevens said there are 16 different types of apprenticeships including to be a wireman or insulator. 

“What we hear time and time again is the willingness to show up day in and day out right now is something that is highly sought after,” Stevens said, adding that problem-solving skills are also key.

“It’s that ability to attempt and problem solve and try to navigate some of their own projects without quickly deciding, ‘Oh, I need somebody to show me or tell me,’ ” he said. ♦