Employee Highlight: Apprentices Turned Leaders

As we enter November, it’s officially time to select our new apprentices for the Winter 2021-2022 cohort. Apprenticeships are a great way to build valuable skills without accumulating debt, as well as getting a jump start on a new career, but few people actually know the ins and outs of this type of program. Before the application window closes on Sunday, November 14, we would like to highlight some of our former apprentices who have moved into leadership positions at the shipyard.

Read about their experiences below to get a first-hand perspective on what it’s like to be an apprentice at Philly Shipyard. Applications are now open online!

Mike Rook
Production Supervisor, Double Bottom Line

Mike Rook has been at Philly Shipyard since 2012. He was in between schools when he developed an interest in skilled trades that led him to our program.

“The apprenticeship was a way to learn a trade and go to school at the same time,” Rook said, while sparks flew and hammers rang out in the shop behind him. “It helped me earn my credits to get my associates before finishing my bachelors.”

In the following years, the valuable skills Mike learned through the apprenticeship program made him an attractive candidate for all sorts of jobs.

“Welding in general, shipbuilding, ironworking, this type of trade is highly valuable. I recommend the apprenticeship program to people all the time. It’s a great way to get paid and learn a great trade. If you can kick it here you’re an all-star.”

In the years since his apprenticeship, Mike has been promoted to the role of Supervisor for the Double Bottom Line shop. He’s quick to remind people that the job has its challenges.

“During the winter it’s the coldest you’re ever going to be,” Rook said. “In my final interview, when I really wanted the job, something they said to me was, ‘it’s the coldest, hottest, most wet, and most dry you’ll ever be in your life working in the shipyard’ and that’s the best way to put it.”

While Mike believes it’s important for prospective apprentices to understand the challenges, he can also point to many things that he considers to be the high points of his shipbuilding career.

“To this day it’s cool seeing big stuff get lifted up. Some of the things we do here, it’s bigger than life.  We’ve got one of the biggest cranes on the east coast, and that’s pretty cool,” Rook said.

Al Alessandrini
Electrical Outfitting Designer & Field Engineer

Al Alessandrini completed the apprenticeship program in 2007 and currently serves as an Electrical Engineer.

“I was in a trade at the time. I wasn’t sure where my life was going. I decided to apply, and got hired,” Alessandrini said.

A year after his graduation he was made a Team Leader, two years after that he became a Supervisor.  He spent seven years in that position before moving to the Electrical Engineering department.

“This job has given me a lot of opportunities and growth. As an apprentice, I had the ability to work with skilled tradesmen who were able to pass down the tools of the trade to me, all while avoiding the student debt others picked up. In fact, I was able to get a job where I actually had tuition reimbursement, which I took advantage of through classes at the Community College of Philadelphia, after I completed the apprenticeship,” Alessandrini said while a dock crane passed by overhead.

“So, it’s a great opportunity to start earning a wage at a young age, to be able to save, and to be able to build a life. The company is investing a lot of money in apprentices in hopes that they eventually climb into leadership roles – such as myself.”

So what would Al say to someone without trade experience who is considering applying to the program?

“It’s hard work,” he said. “It’s very hard work, but if you put in the time and the effort and keep a positive attitude about it, it can take you places, as it has for myself.”

Interested in becoming our next apprenticeship success story? You can learn more and apply today by clicking here!