A student who’ll be a senior at Pella High School this fall is already on the payroll at Vermeer Manufacturing.
Charles Vander Velden is the first student to enter a new apprenticeship program for welders that’s a partnership of the school, Vermeer and Des Moines Area Community College. Vander Velden started his apprenticeship in welding today.
“I saw this as a great opportunity for my future,” Vander Velden said.
Vander Velden’s school in Pella has developed a “Registered Apprenticeship Playbook” that businesses, students and schools may use.