They put the accent on the proper syllabus last week when 17 soon-to-be Butler County Vocational-Technical School graduates took part in a signing day ceremony, officially entering into apprenticeship programs with a paycheck, benefits and the likelihood of future journeyman status.

The students signed apprenticeship letters with Penn United Technology, Oberg Industries and Sheet Metal Workers Local 12 of Harmar Township at the event at Butler Intermediate High School.

To qualify, the seniors had to take a skills assessment test and go through an interview process to be selected for the apprenticeship program, said Stacey Burke, Butler County vo-tech program development coordinator.

The apprentice programs have been around for decades — since the 1970s at Oberg, says apprentice supervisor Jason Falkner.

What’s new is the signing ceremony. It adds a nice touch. “We just started doing this last year,” Burke said.

Consider the similarities between a college-bound athlete and an apprentice tradesman or tradeswoman: Both are prized and recruited for their physical ability, dexterity and mental sharpness. Both have unlimited potential and prospects for a bright future. Both intend to benefit from their training experience and move on to a good paying profession.

There is also a fraternal element that should not be overlooked Professionals of any trade, like professional athletes, share a bond that begins with college and rookie camps and continues through halls of fame.

Awards and ceremonies elevate a career — a profession — above the status of ordinary job. Signing ceremonies send a signal to younger students that it’s as noble to become a bricklayer or machinist as it is to become a baseball player — or an attorney, doctor or teacher. To become an accomplished member of that given profession is to become a member of its fraternal and scholarly order.

A key ingredient is the schools and professions working hand-in-hand, perhaps similar to the way college athletic coaches and recruiters work with high school programs. Keith Schettler, the apprenticeship coordinator with Sheet Metal Workers Local 12, said the union is happy to take on Butler County vo-tech students as apprentices: “In my opinion, no instructor or school system does a better job at getting kids ready to be an employee than Butler vo-tech.”

And the new apprentices will no doubt be happy with their paychecks.

“The first year they are apprentices they are making good cash. The contractors are happy with them and the union is happy with them. They are getting their feet on the ground,” says Schettler.

Union apprentices make $30,000 their first year plus benefits, he said.

“The way that the industry is growing, it’s going to need more kids,” he added. “Electrical, plumbing, steam fitting, sheet metal, these jobs are in demand. These are good-paying jobs.”

More than that. Good-paying jobs provide financial freedom, along with the leisure time and energy to enjoy it.

That’s something worth celebrating with something like a signing-day ceremony.