Local electricians are working to bring more young people into the trade through a program called Ambassador 48. The program sends apprentices and journey-level electricians from IBEW Local 48 into high school classrooms, career fairs, and summer camps to encourage more people to become union electrical workers. In 2024, members completed nearly 1,000 outreach hours.
Increasingly, educators are recognizing the trades and apprenticeships as valuable career pathways, not just options for kids who aren’t bound for college.
Bridget Quinn, Workforce Development Coordinator at the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center (NIETC), said increased respect for the trades has resulted in a deluge of invitations to career fairs and requests for guest speakers. That led the local to create the Ambassador 48 program in 2016.
When Danyella Foster heard about the ambassador program as a new apprentice, she jumped at the opportunity to share her love for the work and the earn-while-you-learn program. Foster hadn’t joined the apprenticeship program until she was in her late 30s.
“I wish I would have known about it when I was younger,” Foster said. “Nobody ever came into the schools to tell us about it. I messed up a lot when I was younger, so this was like my second chance. And it has done so much for me.”
IBEW ambassadors set up tables at career fairs and visit classrooms as invited guest speakers. Sometimes the presentations include a hands-on demo like energizing a circuit or wiring a light switch.
Foster enjoys the one-on-one conversations at career fairs. She says at least one or two people engage with her at each event. That may seem low, but the connections can go a long way, Foster said. One current apprentice told Foster that her visit to the apprentice’s high school led her to apply.
Quinn trains new ambassadors three times a year. Some join just to do outreach at one event, while others do the same event or location every year. About 10 members are frequent ambassadors, Quinn said.
Ambassadors don’t just recite facts from an info sheet; they share their personal path to the IBEW. One ambassador who’d been through foster care was able to take part in a career fair at a camp specifically for foster kids, Quinn said. And Local 48 members who served time at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s women’s prison, returned to tell current inmates how they could turn their lives around after their release.
The annual Girls Build summer camp exposes girls to construction trades and is aided by Local 48 ambassadors.
Steve Huson has been part of the ambassador program for most of its nine years.
“I try to explain to people that each one of us is created a little tiny bit different, and each one of us has different gifts and talents…. If working with your hands, seeing something be created, and creatively finding solutions to problems is something you enjoy doing, then maybe electrical is what you’re supposed to do,” Huson said, summarizing his pitch.
Huson visits job sites around Oregon and Washington as safety coordinator for Mill Plain Electric, and he checks the ambassador schedule for outreach events nearby. Huson served 22 years in the Oregon Army National Guard and does outreach at veterans events.
The apprenticeship program is competitive, so just hearing about the program and submitting a basic application isn’t enough to earn a spot. But Quinn and the ambassadors encourage career seekers to strengthen their applications through CTE courses, volunteer work, pre-apprenticeship programs, completing independent projects, and creating portfolios.
“I think that we’re doing a better job educating our applicants so they have a fighting chance,” Quinn said.
Local 48 reimburses members for lost wages and benefits if they serve as an ambassador during hours they would otherwise be at work. Apprentices can also count hours toward their training hour requirements.
Quinn said she thinks of the Ambassador 48 program as a positive feedback loop.
“They go out. They talk about how great the program is, and it just reinforces that pride for our membership,” Quinn said.
