President Barack Obama has proclaimed this week as "National Apprenticeship Week," putting a spotlight on programs operated by Colorado Springs-based Heating & Plumbing Engineers, Colorado Springs, Colo., and other groups while focusing on the advantages apprenticeships can offer young people who aren't college bound.

"They have at least four years of experience," Reanna Werner, talent manager for Colorado Springs-based Heating & Plumbing Engineers, said of recent graduates in the company's program. "They're licensed professionals, earning very good money and they're debt free, able to buy a home, start a family, live the American dream."

HPE, a 68-year-old, family-run commercial heating and plumbing company based in the Springs and with a Denver office, launched its seventh apprenticeship class in September. It's one of only two mechanical contractors in Colorado with an in-house, certified and registered program, Werner said; the company doesn't partner with traditional schools.

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