It’s been more than 18 months since the Department of Social and Health Services was approved by the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council to launch its Trades Apprenticeship Program, only to be met head-on by a global pandemic. Despite the myriad challenges presented by COVID-19, the program got off the ground in September 2020 and now has its first three apprentices in place at its Medical Lake campus in eastern Washington, serving Lakeland Village and Eastern State Hospital. The students have nearly a full year of apprenticeship under their belts and when they graduate over the next years, depending on their program, they will qualify as journey-level painters, plumbers and maintenance carpenters. Read more on the DSHS Medium site.