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How the Great Lakes Water Authority’s Apprenticeship Program Is Building a Skilled Workforce
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he Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is a regional water and wastewater treatment service provider for eight southeastern Michigan counties. In order to replace an aging workforce and ensure that it has sufficient skilled employees, GLWA has established a 3-year apprenticeship program that combines paid, on-the-job training; in-house educational courses; and community college courses. The program’s graduates are offered full-time positions at GLWA. In this interview, Patricia Butler, GLWA’s manager for organizational development, tells Municipal Water Leader about how the program was designed and how it is benefiting the authority, and Etaune “EJ” Johnson, an apprentice graduate and current full-time GLWA employee, tells us about his experience in the program.
A GLWA apprentice learns from GLWA journey workers.
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds and how you came to be in your current positions. Patricia Butler: I’ve been with GLWA for 3 years. I’m in organizational development, which is our human resources department. I lead our performance management, progression development, and apprenticeship programs. My background is in strategic development, program development, and business process automation. I came to GLWA from the healthcare industry to assist with the development and launch of the performance management system and processes.
GLWA apprentices learn in a classroom setting.
EJ Johnson: I have been working with GLWA for the past 3 years. I started the apprenticeship journey about 3½ years ago. Right after high school, I went to Focus: HOPE, which I learned about from my father. Focus: HOPE is a third-party trade company that places people in different trades and apprenticeship groups. GLWA was one of the companies recruiting through it, and I was one of the people lucky enough to make it through the testing and interview processes. Three years of hard work and determination later, I am an electrical instrumentation control technician and work at Water Works Park Water Treatment Facility. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about GLWA’s history and services. What is its service area, how many people does it serve, and how many employees does it have?
16 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER | April 2021
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF GLWA.
A GLWA journey worker provides individualized, onsite training to an apprentice.
Patricia Butler: GLWA is a regional authority that provides water and wastewater treatment services to nearly 4 million Michigan residents. We ensure that our member partner communities across eight southeastern Michigan counties receive water of unquestionable quality and effective and
