Nov. 12, 2025 Grand Rapids Community College and its partners are reimagining how businesses build a skilled workforce. The results are already reshaping West Michigan’s talent pipeline. In a groundbreaking collaboration with Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. (DGRI), West Michigan Works!, Rockwell Earthworks and the Grand River Workforce Collaborative, GRCC launched a federally registered apprenticeship in landscaping, piloted through the high-profile Lyon Square renovation project. This effort, the first of its kind in the region, represents more than a job training program. It’s a scalable model for employer-led apprenticeship creation, with GRCC acting as the classroom training hub and compliance partner. “No one else in the country is doing this,” said Haley Kozal, GRCC’s apprenticeship program manager. “Every partner brings expertise to the table — city planning, small business, workforce development, education. We created something sustainable that works for employers, employees and the entire community.”     A New Kind of Partnership For Rockwell Earthworks, a local landscape company, and with the support of Rockford Construction, the general contractor on the Lyon Square project, the benefits were immediate and practical. “We started this business in 2020 and wanted to grow,” Rockwell said. “By apprenticing people who want to learn, we can vet their skill set and see if there is long-term employment fit. GRCC handles the classroom portion of the apprenticeship, and then each student works on projects as part of our team. This approach has allowed us to win bigger contracts, such as the landscaping work on the Lyon Square renovation, because we have trained staff to do the work.”  Apprentices split time between paid, hands-on work at Rockwell and classroom instruction provided by GRCC. Over two years, they’ll gain the skills needed to earn a nationally recognized journeyman’s credential at no cost to them.  “Our apprentices don’t have to drop everything to go to school full-time,” said Kozal. “They’re earning while learning — and growing with a company.” Rockwell notes that additional funding streams, including support from GRCC’s apprenticeship grants and nonprofit partners, helped cover offseason wages and training costs which allowed the business to retain talent through slower winter months.   A Model for the Future What started with Lyon Square is quickly becoming a replicable model. West Michigan Works!, DGRI and GRCC are positioning this collaboration as a template for how employers across industries can build capacity, reduce hiring risk and create sustainable pipelines of talent, especially for small and mid-sized businesses that don’t have HR departments or training teams. “This pilot proves that it works,” stated James Peacock III, economic opportunity program manager at DGRI. “We’re already talking about adapting this for river restoration, water infrastructure and other skilled trades.” And while the Lyon Square project is complete, the ripple effects are just beginning. “This project shows how intentional collaboration creates real opportunity,” said Juan Rosario, talent solutions manager for West Michigan Works! “We’re helping people earn a credential that opens doors across the country. That’s good for them, good for business and good for West Michigan.”   Employer-Ready. Community Focused. With more than 400 electrical apprentices and dozens of other programs in high-demand fields like welding and tool and die, GRCC is ready to help employers across the region create registered apprenticeships tailored to their needs. “We’ve got the faculty, the equipment, the community partners and the experience,” Kozal said. “If you’re an employer looking to grow your team, we’ll help you build the pipeline.” To learn more about GRCC’s apprenticeship capabilities, please visit  the website or watch  Creating Apprenticeships with GRCC .  

Nov. 7, 2025 If you enjoy the sciences and like knowing the “why,” then a two-year degree from GRCC can help you develop the skills you need to complete a four-year degree. But did you know that you can also start preparing for graduate school…and it can be free?  Dr. Joseph Gair from  Michigan State University visited GRCC in October in order to share this message.  “Most people don’t know that graduate school in the sciences is not something you pay for,” Gair said. “Tuition is free, and you are paid a stipend. The catch is that you need to have some research experience during your undergrad schooling. That’s what can help qualify you to work in a lab.”  GRCC alumni Rebecca Brew took advantage of this great opportunity. She graduated in 2022 with an associate degree in  pre-biochemistry , then completed her four-year degree at MSU this past spring before launching into graduate school. She says that she felt very well prepared.  “I took physics with  Dr. Woolsey ,” Brew said. “She taught in a way that made physics exciting and fun. I really connected to that. When I came to MSU, I was looking to get research experience with someone like that.”  She conncted with Dr. Gair and, with some persistence, was engaged to do undergraduate research in his new lab.  “Rebecca has a knack for research,” Gair said. “She can perform an experiment and find something that’s useful for the next iteration. That’s a hard concept for most new scientists to grasp, and many get discouraged. But not Rebecca! Learning and iterating is her superpower. She co-led the authorship of a paper as an undergraduate. That’s impressive.”  Joe Thenikl is another GRCC graduate who found himself attracted to Dr. Gair’s lab. Joe graduated in 2023 with a  pre-engineering degree , and then transferred to MSU. “My GRCC professors cared about us as students and about how we were learning,” Thenikl said. “I wasn’t just memorizing to pass tests. I felt like I was learning and retaining what I learned.”  During his first week at MSU, Joe started looking at professors and their labs in order to make connections. He liked Dr. Gair and his research topic, so he proactively reached out in order to build a relationship. “Joe came to me with deep technical competence,” Gair said. “it was obvious that he understood how to identify and solve chemical problems. I didn’t have to spend time teaching him the fundamentals because he already had them. He was the highest-performing student in his class, recipient of both the MSU ACS Organic Division Award and the Yates Outstanding Graduating Senior in Chemistry Award.”  Now both Joe and Rebecca are working in Dr. Gair’s lab as graduate students. Their tuition is paid, and they also receive a small stipend for serving as teaching associates. Joe is busy making compounds to be used in projects, “just like a sous chef,” as he says. Rebecca is involved in a collaborative project working on methylene insertion.  Dr. Gair is thrilled to have found two outstanding lab team members, and he hopes that more people will consider graduate school in the sciences.  “You can get a great foundation at GRCC,” Gair says. “Your success after that will depend on you. Make sure you get some research experience along the way, and start pursuing those opportunities earlier rather than later.”  Joe says it was important for him to initiate contact early. “It’s appropriate to reach out and be proactive,” Thenikl said. “Every professor I’ve met at MSU has been excited to talk to me. They all run labs and need good students to do the work. When you reach out to them, you are showing initiative and they appreciate it.”  Learn more about how to  transfer from GRCC to a four-year program.