OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a bill that encourages Oklahoma employers to hire more apprentices and interns.
Stitt signed Senate Bill 95 into law on Wednesday. The bill previously passed unanimously in both the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
The bill clarifies who is and who is not covered by a workers’ compensation plan. It aims to expand work-based learning by eliminating barriers and liability for businesses providing experimental learning for Oklahoma students.
“As a small business owner, something my family and I talk about often is trying to find people who are ready and have the skills to meet the needs that we have. We think [SB 95] is a really strong signal to try and share with businesses to open up those work-based learning experiences and internships,” Seifried said in February.
Some business owners are reticent to incorporate work-based learning in their business because they don’t know if the apprentice or intern would be covered by workers compensation insurance.
“We’ve clarified that here and we think this really can be a really good opportunity to try to open up some opportunities for our students and businesses that are struggling with trying to run their business, find employees and support the future workforce,” Seifried said.
Seifried said SB 95 ties in some of the graduation requirements the legislature passed last year to expand work-based learning and help students be career-ready out of high school.
Ella Goodwin, who had an internship at Washington County EMT and is training to be a firefighter at the Bartlesville Fire Department, previously spoke with Oklahoma Business Voice about how the internship prepared her for her future career.
“Any real-world experience you can get while you’re young [are beneficial]. You’re building connections. You’re starting that growth earlier on,” Goodwin said.
Bartlesville High School students such as senior Owen May have gained invaluable experience from internships at Phillips 66 Bartlesville Business Operations & Innovation Center.
Scott Bilger, who is with Phillips 66 and is a member of the Bartlesville School Board, said providing internships to local high school students benefits both the students and the company.
“This is an opportunity for us to give real world experience. As a future employer, as a student, what a great opportunity to, find out, ‘Hey, I think this is what I want to do, but let’s go find out. Let’s go see if this is really the good fit that I think it is. And before I go spend four years or two years, whatever it may be – eight years – studying this, let’s go find out if I really think this is the fit,'” Bilger said.
The internship gave May greater clarity on his future.
“I’m more sure that business is the correct career path for me,” he said. “I know I want to stay local and that oil and gas is a big deal in Oklahoma. So, yeah, I feel more sure about my future.”
The ultimate goal of internships and apprenticeships is to create better outcomes for young Oklahomans by better aligning students career paths for future success, making more students college-, career- or military-ready – whichever pathway is best for them, according to Anthony Tucker, Bartlesville High School’s internship director.
“They get that experience and it allows them to figure out, ‘Is this something that I want to continue to pursue?’ So many times in the past we would say, ‘Are they collegebound? Are they college-ready?’ We want, through the internship program, to make them life-ready and work-ready,” Tucker said.
