Hello, I am Charlene Sumlin. I am the Apprenticeship
Consultant for Pope Air Force Base.
We are proud to be a part of the Air Force Community and we are proud that we can support the Air Force Community in providing an important credential which demonstrates to the civilian and military employer a high degree of competency in a trade.
Many people join the military in order to earn money for college. Others want to learn a valuable job skill which will assist them in obtaining a rewarding and high paying job after they complete military service. In order to accomplish these worthy goals, many young people are now looking at the military in order to obtain Journeyman's Status-- recognizing the high quality training and high degree of job performance required to do their military tasks. Many young people find the civilian community is unable to provide an inexperienced person with the opportunity to receive these high technical skills and therefore many join the Armed Forces to receive valuable credentials such as a Journeyman's Certificate which will last them a lifetime.
The Apprenticeship Program combines valuable work experience with valuable military schools in order to achieve competency in a trade. We hope as time continues that we will be able to expand our offerings to other Air Force Specialty Codes.
At this time, the North Carolina Department of Labor has identified those Airmen who are assigned the following Air Force Specialty Codes and who are working in those AFSC's as eligible to participate in the following North Carolina Department of Labor Apprenticeship Trades:
3V0X3 Visual Information Production Documentation:
3S2X1 Education and Training Manager
3E1X1 Heating and Ventilation Air Conditioning:
3EOX1 Electrician:
3E4X1 Plumber
After completing your apprenticeship program in one of the above-mentioned Air Force Specialty Codes, you will receive a North Carolina Journeyman's Certificate from the North Carolina Department of Labor and a Federal Journeyman's Certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor certificate which will demonstrate a level of attainment in which you can perform duties of a highly paid tradesman. Both Certificates are recognized nationwide that you have achieved journeyman status. Both certificates are shown below:
The North Carolina Department of Labor hopes to expand the number of trades to other Air Force Speciality Codes which are not listed above where we can serve more of the Air Force Community. Other branches of the military have developed other programs. Therefore, we invite Airmen to click here to view some of the other trades which have already been created for other branches of the military. If you feel that one of the trades is related to your Air Force Speciality Code, please contact our office so that we can discuss it and so that you can possibly enroll without any delay.
To enroll in the Apprenticeship Program and to receive details on the program, you should contact TSgt Randy Plummer, SSgt Patty Hairston, or MSgt Jason Richards, Education and Training Managers, who are located at the Base Training Office in Building 308 (Personnel Building) at Pope AFB between the hours of 0900 to 1600 Monday through Friday. Their telephone number is (910) 394-4889.
Directions to Building 308: From Fort Bragg, head north on Reilly Road. After you pass the USAF Clinic on your right, turn right at the next street corner which is Maynard Street. Building 308 will be the second building on the left and will be marked "Personnel" on the entrance. The Base Training Office is located on the first floor of Building 308.
Your Education and Training Manager will explain how the program works. You will return all your paperwork to your Education and Training Manager. The Education and Training Manager will provide you with your work processes and explain the program to you. You will submit a copy of your Log Sheets and other items to your Education and Training Manager. You should also maintain your own Logbook with the original time sheets and work processes sheet and other materials so that you can show to your employer what you accomplished in the Apprenticeship Program. You will also be able to show your prospective employer your Journeyman's Certificate given at completion which will demonstrate to the employer your high achievement in your chosen field. The Airmen who complete the Apprenticeship Program are encouraged to contact the Apprenticeship Office in their home state for job assistance after you leave the military. Press here for contact.
Provide your Education and Training Manager with your log sheets quarterly (every three months) so that (s)he will be able to submit your paperwork to me in a timely fashion.
If you should be transferred to another Air Force Base, you may mail me your work at the following address:
Ms. Charlene D. Sumlin
Apprenticeship and Training Bureau
P.O. Box 53634
Fayetteville, North Carolina 28305-3634
Contact with me must be provided by mail or by contacting your Education and Training Manager at least every six months to insure that you not be dropped from the Apprenticeship Program. If you should be assigned other duties where you will not be able to continue working in your Apprenticeable Air Force Specialty Code, you can request to be put into suspense. In such a case, we will hold your record indefinitely until we are advised by you in writing that you can continue working your trade. You can only be enrolled in one apprenticeship program at a time. Therefore if you permanently change to another Air Force Specialty Code which is Apprenticeable, you can ask to be dropped from your current program and enter another. In such a case, we can provide you with a Partial Completion Letter at your request for the trade you dropped. Your Partial Completion Letter and your Logbook will make it easier to continue in the Apprenticeship Program with a civilian employer if you choose to separate from the military. Press here to find assistance in your home state.
Soldiers completing the Apprenticeship Program may also qualify for an Associate's Degree through Fayetteville Technical Community College after meeting the college's residency requirement. The residency requirement requires students to complete twenty-five percent of the program through FTCC classes which will include any core curriculum courses and any proficiency tests which the college may require. Approximately, seventy-five percent of the degree requirements in most cases can be satisfied by evidence that you have completed the apprenticeship program. The Apprenticeship Program satisifies the lab portion of your degree requirements.
Soldiers completing certain apprenticeship programs such as auto mechanics or cooking can achieve Associate's Degrees in auto mechanics or Food Service at FTCC.
All completed Apprenticeship Programs can lead to an Associate's Degree at FTCC such as the General Occupational Technology Program.
For more information on the Associate's Degree, contact Counseling Services at Fayetteville Technical Comunity College by calling (910) 678-8419.
You may also wish to visit the Fayetteville Technical Community College Home Page on the internet.
I feel apprenticeship is very important, because most of what we know is learned through real life experiences. Apprenticeship is a real life experience because we combine classroom training--what you have learned in your military schools with what on-the-job experience you gain while performing your day to day tasks on your job. Apprenticeship insures that you gain the proper training in all aspects of your job where you not only perform better in your military job (therefore having a better chance for advancement in the military), but you will be properly trained to take the well-payed highly skilled job in your field if you choose to take a civilian position.
Airmen who have been working their Air Force Specialty Codes for a period of time before enrolling in the Apprenticeship Program may reduce the amount of time which it takes to complete an apprenticeship program through Previous Experience. Because the program is accelerated by Previous Experience, many soldiers complete in half the time in which their civilian counterparts who have no previous experience could accomplish their civilian Journeyman's Certification.
For more details on the Apprenticeship Program, Press for Details.
If you need forms, press here for the forms for your apprenticeship program: Press for Forms
If you have questions about Apprenticeship, you can click here to send us a question.
If you have comments or suggestions to improve this web site, you can e-mail your comments and suggestions to Larry Creel.
Your Education and Training Manager should be able to assist you. However, I can also be reached at (910) 396-4534 on Thursdays at my office at Fort Bragg or at (910) 223-0628 the rest of the week at my office in Fayetteville.
My office at Fort Bragg is in a three story brick building--Building 2-1728 (University Center) on Armistead Street which is 150 feet north of Macomb Street. My office is located on the first floor in the same area where the Education Center offers Basic Education classes and where the CYBIS lab is located. See the Fort Bragg map below for exact location of the building if you would like to see me:
Fort Bragg Map
Airmen enrolled in the program can provide their Education and Training Manager with their paperwork any day of the week.
For more information about
North Carolina Department of Labor Apprenticeship and Training Bureau
Air Force Apprenticeship Programs Outside Pope AFB--None at Present
North Carolina Department of Labor
