Most apprentices don’t appear on reality TV shows hosted by Donald Trump.

Instead, they train behind the scenes as plumbers, pipefitters, electricians and the like – juggling real work in the field and classroom studies for several years as they prepare for careers that could net them salaries in the mid to high five figures.

“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.”

President Barack Obama has proclaimed this week as “National Apprenticeship Week,” putting a spotlight on programs operated by HPE and other groups while focusing on the advantages apprenticeships can offer young people who aren’t college bound.

Colorado has about 250 registered apprentice programs, which currently have an enrollment of about 6,000, said Dave Risser, a Denver-based apprentice training representative in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship.

Such programs might train apprentices on behalf of several dozen contractors, and enrollment in each could range from a handful to several hundred, Risser said.

Among other benefits, apprentices are paid hourly as they work alongside experienced journeymen. They also develop lifelong, top-notch skills without taking on college loans and leaving school with huge debts, he said.

“They’re tops, top of the line,” Risser said. “It’s regimented, it’s spelled out, it’s not somebody that just wants to get by on not doing what’s supposed to be done. It’s a quality apprenticeship program that’s been around since Ben Franklin”

Such programs are best known for training electricians, drywallers, sheet metal workers and carpenters, among others, Risser said.

But apprentice programs aren’t just for construction workers. The Broadmoor hotel has one for culinary chefs, while the U.S. Mint in Denver and Colorado Springs Utilities have opportunities, Risser said.

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.

HPE has 49 people in various stages of the four-year apprentice program, which teaches them to become plumbers, pipefitters and sheet-metal workers. They first serve as pre-apprentices; Werner then interviews and evaluates those who want to move up.

Apprentices work 40 hours a week and are paid $14 an hour in their first year, with raises of up to a $1 an hour as they progress. They also attend classes for six hours a week during spring and fall semesters, where they learn the concepts of their field work, Werner said. HPE’s classes, where students also receive hands-on training in welding and other skills, take place at the company’s central Colorado Springs headquarters.

HPE, which employs 300 people, invests about $10,000 in each apprentice over the four years, she said. As a commercial mechanical engineering firm, HPE’s clients include hospitals, high-tech firms, schools, retailers and government agencies.

“We take great pride in turning out some of the best journeymen this state has to offer,” Werner said.

Of other area programs, the Colorado Springs Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee trains apprentices in conjunction with local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association.

Tuition is $1,000 a year for the five-year program, but apprentices are paid $12 an hour to start, receive up to 55 hours toward college credit and can make $30 an hour as journeymen, said Francis Vigil, who oversees the program.

“We’re kind of like a best-kept secret,” Vigil said of apprenticeships. “We need to get the word out more. Not everybody is geared for college. And the apprenticeship is a great career. It’s not a job, it’s a career.”