Pre-Apprenticeship Experience

Pre-Apprenticeship experience at a glance

Phase 1 (weeks 1-5): Animal Care Training in Bar Harbor

For the first five weeks, you will have hands-on and classroom training in how to take care of our mice (animal care). You will gain skills and knowledge in the following topics:

• Ethical and humane treatment of animals
• Handling live mice
• How to prevent the spread of germs
• How to work on a team
• Identifying mouse model characteristics
• How to collect and enter data

Phase 2 (weeks 6-7): Operations training in Ellsworth

For the next two weeks, you will have hands-on and classroom training in how you can support mouse production and distribution (operations). You will gain skills and knowledge in the following topics:

• How to ship live animals
• How to clean and assemble materials to keep our mice healthy
• How to lift and move materials in a safe manner
• How to work with conveyor and robotic systems

Phase 3 (weeks 8 and 9): Choose your path

For the final two weeks, you get to choose to work in either Animal Care or Operations. Based on your choice, you will be placed in a department and assigned to a mentor. You will have independent daily work as well as exposure to advanced processes and skills within that department.