Pre-Apprentice Training Dedication

A course called Pre-Apprentice Training was first offered by The Mott Adult Education Program of Flint. Michigan in 1968. It was intended to help prepare female and minority job applicants with the skills necessary to pass the General Motors Apprenticeship Test Battery. The class provided training in six areas: (1 Basic Math, (2) Algebra, (3) Geometry. (4) Spatial Skills, (5) Mechanical Comprehension, and (6) Reading Comprehension. The first class used six different text books. The instructor, John Beach and Program Coordinator. Jack Martin wrote a workbook text that combined all six subjects into what later became known as the Pre-Apprentice Training Manual. To their credit, the first class of twenty-two resulted in seventeen apprentices and later, fourteen journeymen: As a result of this effort, minority and female participation in the Flint Area GM Plants rose from less than 3% in 1968 to more than 16% by 1981.

Currently the text is utilized in training programs across the country at the Community College, High School and Adult Education levels to help prepare all applicants pass most Skilled Trades Apprenticeship entry examinations. The text follows a simple step-by-step format and may be used in a classroom setting or as a self-instructional guide.

Since first introduced in 1968. more than 100,000 Apprentice Applicants have used this textbook to prepare for the Apprenticeship test. Conscientious instructors including John Mahoney, Ted Baird, Geraldine Haush, Norm Jones, Jessie McKelry and Joanne McGrain have recommended changes and added supplemental materials. There have been two major revisions by Mary Serich. one in 1992 and the other in 2006. This edition was expanded to include the construction trades with new chapters on How To Read A Ruler, Basic Electricity and Technical Reading.

Others share in the textbooks development: The Mott Adult Education Program for providing leadership and direction, The Mott Foundation’s Frank Manley. Sr., without whose encouragement this book would never have been written, and finally, General Motors for recognizing the need. Even more important are the students who attended our classes and allowed experimentation with different methods and teaching techniques. It is to those men and women who are aspiring to be today’s apprentices and tomorrow’s journey persons that this book is dedicated.