WINOOSKI, Vt. (WCAX) - Apprentices at VHV Company in Winooski are building their futures while earning paychecks through a program that combines hands-on work experience with classroom training.

Owen Waligory starts his mornings early as a sheet metal apprentice, shaping metal into ductwork for commercial buildings.

The process involves cutting with a plasma cutter, stiffening, shaping edges, and bending the metal into square shapes.

“We have round ductwork and we have rectangular ductwork. This piece will go between the two,” Waligory explained.

He splits his time between the shop floor and classroom, learning skills he says he wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.

“If I didn’t have the classroom aspect, I wouldn’t get to try... I would have never tried welding, and I wouldn’t have t

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