19 Salt Lake City School District students recently participated in a Talent Ready Apprenticeship Connection (TRAC) Signing Day, committing to apprenticeships with local manufacturing companies. Photo courtesy of Salt Lake City School District.
The Salt Lake City School District recently hosted its largest-ever Talent Ready Apprenticeship Connection (TRAC) Signing Day, celebrating 19 students—the biggest cohort in district history to join the TRAC Youth Apprenticeship Program, an Advanced Manufacturing Program. Students signed their letters of intent, officially committing to youth apprenticeships with top local employers, including two manufacturers located on Salt Lake City’s Westside, Utah PaperBox and Stadler US Inc.
Launched in 2019, the TRAC program is the first in Utah to offer an innovative European style apprenticeship program. This kind of program gives high school students an opportunity to explore their diverse career aspirations by working closely with local experts to gain practical on-the-job experience. This hands-on experience is paired with relevant classroom education that they can apply in a real-world professional setting.
Stadler, a train and railcar manufacturer, introduced the European-style apprenticeships to Utah after moving their manufacturing operations to the state in 2016. The company is headquartered in Switzerland and they knew the success that this kind of program could have in building a qualified local workforce. The company built the program in partnership with the Salt Lake City School District, Salt Lake Community College, and the State of Utah.
Lucy Andre, CEO Stadler Signaling North America & Chief of Staff Stadler US, noted that no one was making trains in Utah when the company arrived in 2016. The company needed to build a skilled workforce from the ground up. “The TRAC program is a natural extension of those efforts to continue to grow a qualified workforce based right here in Utah,” said Andre. She said he appreciates the way young TRAC apprentices energize the existing workforce, saying “they bring a fresh perspective and innovation”.
Utah has a highly educated population, according to a February 2025 policy brief by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. “Utah now features the third most well-trained and educated workforce in the nation,” says the policy brief. Andre emphasized that the TRAC program and the apprenticeships at Stadler are not because these students can’t qualify for a four year college degree; many of the student apprentices can and will go on to obtain additional education. Rather, these apprenticeships allow students to explore alternative paths by helping them develop high proficiency in mechanical and technical jobs.
Hudson Behrens is wrapping up his first year as a TRAC apprentice with Stadler. He learned about the program through his high school electronics class and was interested in exploring how to translate the skills he learned in the classroom to the real world. He is currently working on building a large scale model train with the Stadler engineers to experience how mechanics would work on the full scale version. Behrens started on the production floor, but it didn’t last long. Shortly after, his mentor learned that he was interested in engineering and helped set him up with the Engineering Department so that he could start exploring how trains are developed before they hit the production floor. Behrens describes his time at Stadler as an “unbeatable experience because I get to see the process from design to production and I get to feel like a team member”.
Andre also appreciates how the TRAC apprentices help to bring the Stadler workforce together.“Nothing makes you value your work more than getting to share your knowledge about it with someone else,” she said. Students who sign on for the program start their senior year and work with the program for 3 years. Andre says that even before ending their apprenticeship, students will have honed their skills so well they will be training the next class of apprentices. “Our apprentices are great contributors to the team well before they leave the program.”
Students are paid a good wage during their apprenticeships and the company covers their tuition to earn their Associate's degree while completing the apprenticeship program. Partnerships with local businesses mean that — in addition to the Salt Lake City School District’s technical education programs — students can earn industry-recognized certifications before they graduate. This gives students what the school district calls “a launch pad for success,” and the tools necessary to succeed early in their career.
In related news, Stadler was recently awarded a contract to build new TRAX trains for Utah Transit Authority (UTA). Behrens says he is looking forward to being able to see those trains, stating he “can’t wait to be ‘that guy’ on the TRAX train pointing out all of the mechanics.”
