COOPERSVILLE, Mich. — U.S. Sen. Gary Peters was in West Michigan Tuesday morning to tour a trade school in Coopersville.
The Democrat was at UA Local 174, where apprentices are learning skills to fill jobs in various skill trades.
“We think about training programs and investments we make around the country; this is actually done all in house. That incredible training, it sets the bar of what you would expect for someone to come in,” Peters said. “That doesn’t always happen with a lot of private contractors that don’t have the kind of training that you get in a union training program and this is really the model of what we want to do.”
Peters sponsored bipartisan legislation passed in December that will expand apprenticeship opportunities for veterans through the GI Bill.
“My goal is to expand the ability for folks to get apprenticeship training in a registered program, registered by the department of labor,” he said. “My focus right now is making sure our veterans, when they come off of active duty and transition into civilian life, that they have a clear path to do that and that path should be a variety of paths.”
Peters says the legislation will dramatically increase the number of programs available for veterans in Michigan from 200 to 1,100.
