Charlotte’s Apprenticeships Empower Communities and Inspire Cities

Published on January 14, 2026

By Maranda Whittington

Seven years ago, Edi Cardoza received a call that changed his life. 

“I pick up the phone, and they were like, ‘We’re calling from the City of Charlotte, Charlotte Water. There’s an interview, are you still interested?’” Cardoza said. 

The only problem… Cardoza never applied for a job with the City of Charlotte. He already had one and wasn’t interested in leaving, but his brother had other plans for him.

“My brother works for 311, so he was insistent [that I] work for the city,” said Cardoza. 

Cardoza had repeatedly turned down his brother's offer, so when that call came through, he already knew who was behind it. 

“In the back of my mind I was like, ‘that was my brother, I know it,’” he said. “So, I was like, okay, you know what, I’m not going to get mad. They’re already giving me the interview, so [I] accepted it.”

Around that time, Charlotte Water launched a new apprenticeship program. The program would train entry-level utility technicians, a hard-to-fill role in need of more workers. That’s how Cardoza became a utility technician apprentice.

“When you’re doing the apprenticeship, it’s like you start from knowing nothing, from the bottom,” said Cardoza. “You get to know the foundation that you need for the trade.”  

“It’s easier to get your foot in the door because with an apprenticeship, participants do not have to have any previous experience,” said City of Charlotte Workforce Development Program Manager, Sherri Jones. “So, for those who were just seeking careers, this is a great pathway.”

Sherri Jones, Danielle Frazier and members of the Workforce Development team pose together during an apprenticeship workshop.

Jones was initially hired by Charlotte Water in 2017 as a Workforce Development Specialist. Her job was to focus on building up the department’s new apprenticeship program, but she admits it wasn’t easy at first. 

“Even though it was something the city wanted, [and] Charlotte Water raised their hand, it was still about change management,” she said. 

Jones and team had to present the benefits of having an apprenticeship program to different leaders and divisions across the City of Charlotte. 

“Once I built that trust and got the true buy-in, it has been a wonderful experience,” she said. 

Four years later, the program was growing, and so was Jones. She decided to apply for her current role as Workforce Development Program Manager, which would allow her to support all City of Charlotte departments with this apprenticeship initiative. 

 “The beauty of it is being able to share these opportunities with the community,” Jones said.

As of October 2025, the City of Charlotte maintains 20 registered apprenticeship occupations with the U.S. Department of Labor. The City of Charlotte also has 81 active apprentices across multiple departments, including Charlotte Fire, Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, Charlotte Water, Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and Solid Waste Services. 

Jones said apprenticeship programs are about more than just providing someone with a job; they provide intergenerational mobility. 

“It’s economic mobility. It’s transportation. It’s education. It’s all of those things,” she said. 

The growth and success of the City of Charlotte’s apprenticeship program is now catching the eye of other municipalities interested in implementing similar initiatives.

Michael Ramsey, Executive Director of Workforce Development for the City of San Antonio, first heard about the City of Charlotte’s apprenticeship programs after meeting Special Assistant to the City Manager Danielle Frazier at a work conference in 2025.

“She was telling me about all the great stuff happening in Charlotte, and I said, ‘hey we’re [also] trying to build out our apprenticeship program inside of the city,” said Ramsey. 

Frazier then connected here Ramsey’s team with Jones, and before they knew it, they were in Charlotte. 

 “They talked to the people who were in the apprenticeship programs, the managers and supervisors overseeing those programs,” he said. “It kind of brought to life exactly what we’ve been having conversations about.” 

Through this visit, his team was able to see how they could grow their own program and replicate Charlotte’s success in San Antonio. 

Left: Jones and team in San Antonio; right: Jones being interviewed while visiting San Antonio.

Jones then brought the City of Charlotte’s Workforce Development team to San Antonio, where she was able to share even more knowledge and get to know the people behind their program. 

In addition to San Antonio, Jones said she has also been invited to numerous cities across the United States to talk to their Workforce Development teams about how they can start or further elevate their own apprenticeship programs. 

“I’m so honored, and I’m grateful that I’m able to effectively communicate how we started,” said Jones. “I’m making myself accessible for them, and I see that they understand the value and are very appreciative.” 

For Ramsey, he’s not only thankful for these visits but hopeful for the future of the City of San Antonio’s apprenticeship program. 

“We want to catch up to Charlotte in the next couple of years. That’s our goal,” he said. “It’s beneficial to not only the city’s workforce but to the communities that you serve, because the apprenticeship pathway is a great way for people to get their foot in the door with local government.” 

As for the City of Charlotte’s program, well, Jones said they too have bigger plans as they move into the future.

Jones has been having conversations with the city’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience about the future of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) and what that will mean for jobs. They are also looking into the possibility of registering historic trade occupations for the city’s Historic District Commission, something they discovered was possible during their visit to San Antonio.

Cardoza (left) on an assignment for Charlotte Water.

The City of Charlotte knows the importance of apprenticeships, and now Edi Cardoza can proudly say he knows its importance, too. 

After he finished his apprenticeship program, he moved up through Charlotte Water to become a construction inspector. 

“Many people, they see the glory, but they don’t know my trials,” he said. “They see me having this career, but I started in the hole getting dirty like everybody else. I started from the bottom. I see all that, and it was worth it. It was worth the time.” 

Before picking up the phone on that fateful day, Cardoza couldn’t see himself at the City of Charlotte. Now that has time has passed, he’s grateful for his experience and to a brother who decided to put in a job application. 

“I thank him every time I see him,” said Cardoza. “I’m like hey, thank you. Thank you.”