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Acting Secretary Sonderling Visits Pitt Community College and North State Steel to Promote Apprenticeships

September 14, 2026 · USDepartmentofLabor · 0:01:04

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

In a WITN news report carried on the Labor Department’s channel, Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling visited Pitt Community College and North State Steel in eastern North Carolina to see how apprenticeship programs meet workforce needs and connect students to high-wage jobs, according to the report (transcript rendered in Arabic by the caption service and paraphrased here from that rendering).

The report said students in the programs can earn while they learn, work for a local employer, attend Pitt Community College, and receive training and coursework with no debt, graduating into high-skill, high-pay jobs, according to program participants quoted in the segment. Sonderling discussed how apprenticeships can close the skills gap for in-demand jobs across eastern Carolina schools and let students graduate without student debt, according to the report.

Sonderling said the average registered apprentice reaches $86,000 in earnings upon completing the apprenticeship, according to the report. Participants quoted in the segment stressed that a four-year degree is not the only option and said expanding the model nationwide would benefit young people, and the report said Sonderling expects more students to complete their education without accumulating tuition debt as apprenticeship programs grow, according to the segment.

Why it matters

The visit is the Labor Department’s workforce pitch in miniature — apprenticeships presented, with an earnings figure stated by the acting secretary, as a debt-free route into high-demand skilled jobs.

Sources: USDepartmentofLabor, “Secretary Sonderling visits North State Steel (WITN)”, 2026-09-14 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-09-14). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.