DSU leads the state with the most active apprenticeships
TEA & MADISON, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Dakota State University had the most active apprentices in South Dakota, with 216 students enrolled in three apprenticeship programs.
The university’s first apprenticeship program, the Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway, or TAP, launched in fall 2023. It was designed to address the state’s teacher shortage by helping paraprofessionals become licensed educators while continuing their classroom work.
The program was built through a partnership with the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Department of Education, Board of Regents, Northern State University, local school districts, and then-Gov. Kristi Noem.
“What I have seen with apprenticeships and what I’ve learned in three short years is that they work,” said David De Jong, the dean of the College of Education & Human Performance and director of teacher apprenticeships. “It’s a very practical way to earn while you learn and have employers grow their own workforce. So, those common sense principles that are embedded into every apprenticeship makes sense in our state, and they’re helping our workforce.”
De Jong said DSU would not have been able to launch the program without a major partner.
“Our number one partner in all of this is the South Dakota Department of Labor,” De Jong said. “They are great and they care about the workforce in our state, and what we do is we work together to figure out where there are gaps in our state’s workforce. Then we try to fill those gaps and train up South Dakotans to work in those areas.”
For paraprofessional Jennifer Buechler, the program provided a pathway into teaching.
“I hope to be the teacher that inspires our students to find the joy in everyday little things, and to know that they are capable,” Buechler said. “Everyone deserves a champion and someone who believes in them, and I believe we can be that person for our students.”
“I’ve received so much support from our mentors to financial to just words of encouragement, along the way, but having both DSU and the Tea Area School District behind me has made all the difference,” she said.
The success of TAP inspired DSU to expand into youth apprenticeships. The university now offers two programs for high school students- one in cyber and one in education.
Cyber apprentices work with their school’s IT department or a local technology business while taking dual-credit courses through the Governors Cyber Academy.
Education apprentices were employed by their schools as paraprofessionals while also completing DSU’s Gateway to Teacher Education Certificate program.
These apprenticeships give students hands-on experience and reduce the number of courses they need to finish a degree, university officials said.
In 2024, the South Dakota Department of Labor awarded DSU the Start Today Legacy Award for its leadership in shaping apprenticeship programs statewide.
The program has been a success for everyone involved by providing lower tuition for students, reducing the teacher shortage, and addressing the workforce gap in South Dakota.
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