Business, workforce development partner in apprenticeship program

Stitch Fabrication co-owner Jamey Sproull says it’s not every day he meets a potential employee who is excited about a career sewing parts of outdoor recreation gear, but through a new partnership program, Sproull is meeting quite a few, and who have experience to boot.

Sproull is partnering with the International Rescue Committee to train, and sometimes hire if possible, graduates of an industrial sewing program. These apprentices are often immigrants and refugees. Specializing in soft-goods manufacturing, Sproull needs employees who can sew labels onto apparel, zippers and arm straps onto backpacks, reinforce stitch fabric for product adjustments, and more.

“We’re trying to find qualified individuals who can fill part of our staff,” Sproull said. “It was kind of this perfect match from the beginning. We are not asking individuals to sew the entire item (when they first come to us); we ask them to assemble components, then ask the most experienced sewers to sew (the product).”

Sproull is not the only soft-goods manufacturing company that needs industrial sewers; Voxn Clothing, a women’s athletic apparel clothing store, and Sentry Products Group, which specializes in military apparel, have also partnered with the International Rescue Committee to train, then ideally hire, industrial sewers.

The eight current apprentices in the program rotate between the three businesses to get a variety of sewing experience. The training is hands-on from day one, and apprentices receive one-on-one training with a tutor in safety and basic stitch processes. At the conclusion of the two-month program, the apprentices present a portfolio of their work, then seek employment.

The hope is to have nearly 20 apprentices in the near future. About six individuals have applied to the program since last week.

“They’ve been so wonderful, being able to host us and give input in the training schedule,” Rebecca Wilkey, senior economic wellbeing programs coordinator for the International Rescue Committee, said about the three partnering businesses.

She also acknowledged that some additional training after the program is required, and that it takes about six months for an individual to get to know the company’s products, equipment and operations.

“It’s an investment (from the company),” Wilkey said, adding that once trained, a long-term career could eventually make $15-$16 an hour. “An apprenticeship is a special way forward; especially in this moment of economic recovery, it’s a great way people get skilled up into livable wage jobs.”

Sproull said he was hoping for such an opportunity, having partnered with local organizations to train and employ refugees before. Stitch Fabrication currently employs about 13 sewers; Sproull would eventually like that number to be closer to 20.

“This is a really ideal situation; to be able to have people that want to be sewing as a career is unique enough,” Sproull said.

The Idaho Workforce Development Council recently awarded a $25,000 grant to develop the program. Wilkey said, currently, the International Rescue Committee estimates there are about 35 industrial sewing jobs that need to be filled in the next year, and approximately 47 refugees — who have arrived in the past five years — have tailoring skills or have done some sewing work before.

This apprenticeship program is open to all, Wilkey added, and the goal in the coming years to continue expanding it and connecting with individuals who may have experienced job displacement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or are between the ages of 16-24.

The award is part of the Workforce Development Council’s Innovation Grant program, funded through Idaho’s Workforce Development Training, a dedicated fund generated by a 3% offset of unemployment insurance taxes, program partners stated in a press release.

“This grant award is exciting and significant on many levels,” Wendi Secrist, executive director of the Idaho Workforce Development Council, said in a statement. “Most importantly, we know there is an immediate demand for individuals who can bring the elevated industrial sewing skills to companies that are struggling right now to fill jobs and meet growing customer demand for their products. This pilot industrial sewing program truly embodies our core mission of championing strategies that prepare Idahoans for careers that meet employers’ needs.”

“For people who like doing things with their hands, enjoy the process of starting with nothing and seeing a completed product… there’s nothing more rewarding,” Sproull said, adding his appreciation for the apprentices.

As this is not the first time Sproull has hired refugees, some of his employees speak the same languages and have similar cultural backgrounds as the incoming apprentices. Sproull said he appreciates those connections.

“It’s been a great match,” Sproull said. “What we’re trying to accomplish is to create a company that has U.S. manufacturing that is being sustainable. To provide livable wages, a really positive work environment, places where people feel happy and where they can have a long-term career, brings me a lot of joy.”