Huron Healthcare Organization Celebrates National Apprenticeship Week 2026 with Graduate Milestone and State Summit Attendance
At Propelled Professionals Inc., National Apprenticeship Week is not just something we observe. It is something we live. This week, April 26 through May 2, 2026, we are proud to be part of the nation's largest annual celebration of Registered Apprenticeship alongside thousands of employers, advocates, and apprentices across the country.
This Week, Our Apprentices Graduate
This year's NAW carries special meaning for us. Several apprentices enrolled in our Registered Apprenticeship Program through StartTodaySD are graduating this week, and we could not be more proud of every single one of them. These are people who showed up, put in the work, and earned a real credential in healthcare without taking on student debt or stepping away from a paycheck. They trained on the job at our sister company, Independent Health Solutions, under the guidance of experienced mentors who were genuinely invested in their success.
Watching someone complete that journey never gets old.
Liberty + Labor: We Will Be There
Our founder and Executive Director, Ashley Kingdon-Reese, will be attending the Liberty + Labor: 2026 South Dakota Apprenticeship Summit on Thursday, April 30 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The summit is one of the most significant apprenticeship events South Dakota has seen, celebrating employers, program sponsors, and apprentice graduates who have helped build the state's growing apprenticeship landscape.
The timing is meaningful. Earlier this year, Governor Rhoden signed Senate Bill 63 into law, establishing South Dakota as an official State Apprenticeship Agency. That means the oversight and development of Registered Apprenticeship programs is now closer than ever to the employers and workers who need them most. We are proud to be in the room where that milestone is being celebrated.
Selected as South Dakota's Healthcare Apprenticeship Intermediary
In 2024, we were selected as South Dakota's Intermediary for Healthcare Apprenticeships through StartTodaySD, the state's Registered Apprenticeship program through the Department of Labor and Regulation. That designation means we sit between healthcare employers and the federal registration system, handling the complexity of program development, educational coordination, and compliance monitoring so that businesses of any size can access the program without getting buried in paperwork.
Independent Health Solutions is one of the sponsoring employers within our programs, providing the real-world training environment where our apprentices develop their skills and grow into their roles.
As Ashley often says: "Apprenticeship is one of the most powerful workforce tools available to South Dakota businesses, and healthcare is one of the industries that needs it most. This week we are not just celebrating a national movement. We are celebrating the people right here in Huron who showed up, did the work, and earned their credentials. Watching our apprentices graduate is one of the greatest privileges of this work."
Seven Years of Building Healthcare Apprenticeship in South Dakota
Our involvement in healthcare apprenticeship did not start in 2024. Ashley launched one of South Dakota's earliest healthcare apprenticeship programs in 2019 as a StartTodaySD sponsor through Independent Health Solutions. Since then we have developed programs across a range of healthcare roles including Certified Nurse Aide, Community Health Worker, Behavioral Health Aide, and Home Health Aide Specialist, among others. Every graduate who has come through our programs has walked away with a nationally recognized credential and a career built on real experience.
Our StartTodaySD Mentor of the Year
None of this works without the right people. Our Apprenticeship Program Administrator, Melissa Heath, was named Mentor of the Year by StartTodaySD in the past, and it is a recognition we are incredibly proud of. Melissa is the heartbeat of our apprenticeship programs at Independent Health Solutions. She is the starting and ending point for every apprentice who comes through our doors, and the standard of mentorship she sets is what makes our graduates different.
What National Apprenticeship Week 2026 Means for South Dakota
National Apprenticeship Week 2026 is the 12th annual celebration of Registered Apprenticeship in the United States and the first time the event has been held in the spring. This year's theme is "America at Work: Making America Skilled Again Through Registered Apprenticeship." More than 2,300 events and proclamations have been submitted nationally in recognition of the week.
If you are a healthcare employer in South Dakota curious about what the Registered Apprenticeship Program could do for your workforce, we would love to talk. Reach out to us today.
About Propelled Professionals Inc. Propelled Professionals Inc. is an occupational health and workforce development agency based in Huron, South Dakota. As South Dakota's designated Intermediary for Healthcare Apprenticeships through StartTodaySD, PPI works with healthcare employers of all sizes to develop and support Registered Apprenticeship Programs that build skilled, loyal workforces and strengthen South Dakota communities. PPI's services also include OSHA compliance assistance, workplace safety training, health screenings, drug testing, CPR and first aid certification, and continuing education. Business is Excelled when Your Team is Propelled.
📍 375 Dakota Ave S, Suite 101 Dakota Plaza, Huron, SD 57350 📞 605.554.3311 🌐 propelledpros.com
About Independent Health Solutions Independent Health Solutions is a trusted provider of in-home healthcare services for elderly individuals, people with disabilities, and those living with chronic illness in South Dakota. IHS is committed to promoting health, safety, and independence for the patients it serves, and to investing in the caregivers who make that mission possible every day.
📍 Huron, SD 🌐 independenthealthsd.com