Oak Lawn Trustee Starts Apprenticeship Program For High School Students, Graduates

By Mary Kate Brogan

The village of Oak Lawn is backing a proposal to start an apprenticeship program for high school students who are not college-bound, allowing them to work and develop transferrable job skills. 

Any Oak Lawn area high school student or recent graduate that is eligible to work in the U.S. will be able to apply. These students will be required to earn an associate’s degree in their chosen field as part of the program.

Village trustee Tim Desmond, who proposed this program, says he got the idea because the young men who come into his pub, Jack Desmonds, are often stuck in jobs “with no future in them.”

“The village’s goal, long-term, would be jobs for our young people that will hopefully keep them in the village where they will buy houses and raise family and pay property taxes and sales taxes and I guess keep the community thriving,” he says. “And the more people obviously that are using our businesses in Oak Lawn, the better for them.”

Desmond presented his proposal to the District 229 School Board at its meeting Wednesday evening. While school board member Michael McCarthy raised concerns about the potential difficulties of negotiating with unions, he and several other board members responded positively to the idea of the program.

D229 superintendent and OLCHS principal Michael Riordan says he believes this program will help students to make good decisions about their futures.

“We want (our students) to be able to walk out of here in four years with a diploma that says ‘Oak Lawn High School’ that means something, that gives them opportunities, that gives them the ability to follow whatever path they want to follow,” Riordan says. “And I think this kind of program completely supports that and helps those kids make a connection between what they’re learning in the classroom and then the real world when they leave us.”

Desmond is currently working to find business owners who will support the program. Hawk Ford, Meyer Tool, Stars and Stripes printers in Bridgeview and Mancari’s Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge have already signed on as host businesses.

Desmond’s hope is that people will support the local businesses that support them.

“When someone goes to buy a car, they’re going to ask the dealership, ‘Well, do you support the Oak Lawn apprentice program?’” Desmond says. “And if the business says ‘no,’ they’re going to say, ‘Well, thank you, but we’re going to buy a car from the dealership that does support it.’”