Ryder Craig is a high school junior with a knack for information technology. Through a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)-registered apprenticeship, he hones his skills at RTC Communications upgrading computers, installing firewalls, troubleshooting and more.
RTC is a rural communications cooperative in Montgomery (a community of approximately 800 in southern Indiana) that serves Daviess, Lawrence and Martin counties. Products include world-class internet, voice and business service solutions.
“Ryder works under our network engineering group,” explains Patrick Todd, RTC’s vice president of HR and public relations. “Right now, we’re testing some products and actually rebuilding an experimental lab in one of our areas. He also works with our mapping systems and helps us look at different patterns of homes where we may be looking to expand services in southern Indiana. If our network engineers have a problem or are fixing something outside of our building, he’ll go with them to do observations or to be an extra set of hands. So, his role can vary.
“It’s really important to be able to assist rural community growth in building a future workforce,” Todd stresses. “We need these kids that are competent and capable of being up to speed quicker when they come in. Ryder’s very technology oriented, and most of the young people are nowadays. A lot of it is intuitive, so the high schoolers aren’t afraid to pick up a piece of equipment or get into a piece of software and start rolling with it.”
The DOL-registered youth apprenticeship program is sponsored by Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) through a partnership with the Indiana Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship (OWBLA), located within the Department of Workforce Development. It unites employer partners in the high-demand sector of information technology to provide career opportunities to rural youth and meet job growth in southern Indiana.
Read the full story in our BizVoice magazine.
Symone Skrzycki is the copy editor and senior communications manager for the Indiana Chamber. She is also a senior writer for the Chamber’s award-winning BizVoice magazine and has been with the organization since 2000.