Kyler Hefty is a senior at Potosi High School and after he graduates this upcoming spring, he plans to take a different path than many of his classmates. Unlike many of his classmates, Kyler will not attend a four-year college. Kyler plans on starting an apprenticeship program in the fall of 2025 to become an electrician.
Kyler first got interested in becoming an electrician because his Uncle Cord is an electrician and Kyler has always looked up to him. He grew more and more interested in becoming an electrician over the last couple of years. He has gotten more interested because he isn't the biggest fan of school, and because college is very expensive. “I would also make really good money and I wouldn't have to pay for college. The company I do my apprenticeship with would pay for me to go to school,” Kyler said.
Kyler has already started his electrician journey by being a helper for an electrician this past summer. Kyler says, “I am glad I worked under an electrician this past summer because I learned a lot, and it gives me a good first step to my apprenticeship, with already knowing some stuff about being an electrician.”
Kyler also mentioned that there are not a lot of high school students now looking into the trades, so the wages are going up and job opportunities are opening. According to MultiVu.com, a public relations firm, the average age of someone working in the trades in the United States is 55 years old, which is significantly higher than the average in the general workforce; Statista.com says the average age of the workforce is 39.5 years old. Less than 16% of high schoolers directly enter the trades.
Kyler plans on doing his electrical apprenticeship right after high school. He has already applied for the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 159, and he is waiting to hear back. They will find him a company where he can complete his apprenticeship. He plans to attend Madison Area Technical College for classes. The classes are four years long, with 8,000 hours of required on-the-job training, and 600 paid hours of related instruction. With the apprenticeship program being five years long and classes only being four, he will have one year without having to attend classes.
Kyler's goal is to be a journeyman electrician in five years and then a master electrician after that. “My ultimate goal is to one day own my own electrical business in Southwest Wisconsin, and have some of my own employees.”