BELGRADE — It's National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), celebrating earn-while-you-learn trades.
According to Apprenticeship USA, from April 26 to May 2, NAW "highlights how Registered Apprenticeships drive economic growth and provide skilled, diverse, and loyal workforces across industries."
Jaelyn Gibson, 18, is an apprentice with Montana's Registered Apprenticeship Program, working at Northgate Grummpy B's Barber Shop in Belgrade.
"Back in June or July, I was talking about whether I could go to barber school," said Gibson.
WATCH: Belgrade teen learns family barber trade as an apprentice
That's when she found out about Montana's Apprenticeship program: an earn-while-you-learn model for jobs in the trades, health care, education, child care, and more.
According to the Montana Registered Apprenticeship website, there are more than 3,400 Montanans actively working in a registered apprenticeship across the state.
Apprentices in the program learn from licensed mentors, and for Gibson, those mentors happen to be her grandfather and father — the owners of Grummpy B's.
"I retired from the Air Force in 2009," said her grandfather, Chris Gibson. "I got my barber license, and that's when I started in Bozeman as a barber."
Mr. Gibson said Grummpy B's has been open since 1986, and it's been at this location on West Main Street in Belgrade for the past eight years.
His son and the young apprentice's father, Wesley Gibson, has been working at Grummpy B's for five years.
So, what's it like for him to train his daughter?
"It's exciting to see her come in and be excited to learn," he said. "She does what we do — talks to the person and cuts their hair."
Jaelyn Gibson said she has about seven to eight months left as an apprentice before she can get her license.
According to Gibson, some of the best advice she's received from her mentors this far is...
"Don't worry about time," she explained. "As long as you're in there actually doing it and making sure you're getting all the steps right."
