The Cities of Chaska and Plymouth are leaning into developing the next era of the water workforce and are exploring what it means to run successful apprenticeship programs – with different approaches. Their goal remains the same: to make it easier and more accessible for people to join secure, well-paying careers in the water workforce.
The water workforce is a sector of jobs that doesn’t receive a lot of fanfare or attention, but they are critical in ensuring clean water reaches your tap and that lakes and rivers around the state are fishable and swimmable. These jobs range from natural resource managers and engineers to water and wastewater treatment operators, and in recent years, many municipalities in particular are struggling to find dedicated folks to hire in their water operations. While there are several reasons for these labor shortages such as a lack of awareness and a historic lack of diversity, retirements are also a primary contributor with about one-third of the water workforce reaching retirement age in the next ten years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Building pathways to water careers
Addressing workforce shortages requires collaboration, and efforts began in 2019 with Minnesota’s section of the American Water Works Association to bridge the gaps in these career areas. This initiative has since morphed into Freshwater’s Water Workforce Pathways program. Regularly convening 43 members across Minnesota that include water and wastewater utilities, watershed districts, workforce professionals, nonprofits, technical schools and engineering companies, this team works together to share best practices on outreach, hiring, retention and training opportunities such as internships and apprenticeships, a critical pathway to introduce people to these careers.
The Minnesota Water Workforce recommends that each water professional take the following steps to build the future water workforce – templates are included to help you get started:
1. Visit a K-12 classroom or hold a tour for students.
2. Attend a career fair.
3. Build an internship or apprenticeship program.
Building an apprenticeship program into existing employment structures takes time, and Chaska and Plymouth are finally starting to see their efforts in action after years of development.
Matt Haefner, Water and Sewer Director with the City of Chaska, began discussions of their new apprenticeship program in 2022. “I was trying to identify a method to give individuals an opportunity to learn about our industry who might not otherwise know about it,” said Haefner. Met with enthusiasm from the City, they welcomed their first apprentice, Luis (pictured here), who has now become a full-time Chaska Water and Sewer employee after two 6-month terms as an apprentice.
Abbie Browen, Public Works Operations Manager with the City of Plymouth, had similar goals as Haefner when she began conversations of adding a Maintenance Worker Apprenticeship in late 2023. Working with union representatives to mutually agree on the format of a tri-division maintenance apprenticeship spanning the streets, utilities, and parks departments, their first apprentice was welcomed in September 2024 with two more to join the team in March. While still in the early stages of the program, apprentices will toggle between the three maintenance divisions over the span of two years.
Both programs are reducing barriers to entry by minimizing the qualifications required to apply, opting instead for on-the-job training: a key tactic in growing your own workforce. “There were no skills or training requirements to participate in the program. We went into it knowing we would be training individuals from the start,” Haefner notes. In Plymouth, Browen cites a similar practice, “the minimum qualifications are a high school diploma (or equivalent) and a valid driver’s license. All other skills and training are provided once hired.” Among the requirements for these positions, a desire to learn and dedication to the work are ranked as most important.
As Browen and Haefner are learning, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to developing an apprenticeship program. It’s important to be open to adaptation, both in terms of what works best for meeting the needs of existing teams, as in the case of the tri-divisional apprenticeship approach in Plymouth.
“We’ve purposely kept the program and schedule flexible and are constantly looking for feedback from apprentices, existing staff, and management to adapt and evolve the apprenticeship over time,” Browen states.
And equally important is working with the apprentice to build an opportunity that meets them wherever they are by building in the necessary training. As Haefner remarks, “Each City must look at their own situation and see what fits best. For us, we felt we had enough quality seasoned operators that we could start with someone without any experience. We could train and coach the person.”
While each situation is unique to the type of water career and employing organization, sharing these experiences for everyone to learn from is critical in addressing workforce constraints systemically, and that’s one of the goals of Freshwater’s Water Workforce Pathways program.