Savannah River Site to Select First-Ever IT Youth Apprentice

Prospective students for the IT Youth Apprenticeship recently toured the Savannah River Site Central Computing Facility that houses the site's primary servers and core network infrastructure.

AIKEN, S.C. - U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) will select the first information technology (IT) youth apprentice from a pool of 16 area high school students who toured the Savannah River Site (SRS).

"We have worked closely with the Aiken County Public School District to give each of these high-performing tech students the chance to become the first IT youth apprentice," said SRNS Senior IT Manager Tim Arnold. "Employed students will complete their high school curriculum while gaining hands-on experience alongside our employees."

North Augusta High School students enrolled in the Advanced Computer Services and Repairs, Dell Student TechCrew, perform daily tasks in advanced computer repair and diagnostics. In the past three years, the school's TechCrew students have successfully repaired nearly 2,000 devices for the school district.

"This life-changing opportunity with SRS seemed fitting for my students who are eager to gain employment their senior year," said Michelle O'Rourke, instructor. "All students on the TechCrew are Dell-certified and have a ton of experience repairing computers for our school district."

North Augusta High School Dell Student TechCrew students, from left, Connor Mohn, Renee Womack and Sterling Glover repair a laptop.

SRNS Education Outreach coordinated the tour of the PC Administration Facility and the Central Computing Facility for participating students. Students learned how computers are assembled, configured, and prepared for distribution to employees across SRS.

"The ultimate goal for this program is to hire youth apprentices to learn the ins and outs of our IT department," said Sean Alford, SRNS executive vice president and chief of administration. "Any chance we have to connect with students at the high school level is a benefit to our organization and the job pipeline we are building, year after year."

After the tour, SRNS personnel visited North Augusta High School to train students in proper interview etiquette and the SRS hiring process.

Jacob Lott, a prospective candidate for the apprenticeship, said he enjoys the complexity of computer repairs and was eager to tour some of the important IT facilities at SRS.

"I feel extremely honored to not only tour SRS, but to have the chance to interview for a paid apprenticeship experience," said Lott. "I've spent my entire life building computers from scratch with my family and playing games like Minecraft and Terraria. This apprenticeship is a rare opportunity that will allow me to utilize my computer skills."

SRNS plans to select the IT youth apprentice by June. The program, which runs 12 to 15 months, will allow the participant to complete on-the-job IT training. After completing the program, the apprentice will earn a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor.

In 2022, SRNS established the first youth apprenticeship that successfully graduated two high school students.

For more information about SRS Apprenticeship School, click here.

-Contributor: Mackenzie McNabb