Want to become a union builder? These 5 programs can help.
These pre-apprenticeship programs help people get into the building trades unions. Many tend to focus on people of color and women, who are underrepresented in the trades.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/Z665M25KLZBDVAC5C2EDE7BCMY.jpg)
Philadelphia’s building trades offer a rare opportunity: A stable career offering good pay and benefits, with no need for a college degree. But Black people, people of color, and women have been kept out of these unions for hundreds of years.
Today, unions, Black trades workers, and other organizations are working to address this inequity through free programs that aim to help underrepresented workers get in the door.
Known as pre-apprenticeship programs, these initiatives accept people of all genders, races, and ethnicities.
Most programs require that participants be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma or GED, have a driver’s license, and pass a drug test. Some help you get a driver’s license but may require that you already have a learner’s permit.
Here’s a look at what’s out there. You can also browse this apprenticeship guidebook created by City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson for more pre-apprenticeships.
This program, part of the Urban Affairs Coalition and run by Black union carpenter Duerward “Woody” Beale, gets 18- to 24-year-olds ready for apprenticeships in various trades, including carpentry, plumbing, Sheetrock finishing, electrical work, and more. The program is funded by Philadelphia Works and lasts a year, and sometimes more, since it aims to help participants after they’ve gotten into an apprenticeship. Classes are held in Center City and various worksites. Participants must live in Philadelphia. The program will also help you get your driver’s license.
YO-ACAP also has a program for high schoolers interested in the trades.
Call 215-851-1968 to sign up.
The Carpenters Union’s in-house program prepares participants for its four-year apprenticeship by training them on carpentry math and basic building skills. The program also helps graduates find a contractor to work with. Participants must not have a family member in the union. The program, held twice a year, lasts for three months, and classes are held on Saturdays at the Carpenters’ Northeast Philadelphia training center.
Sign up for the information list here.
CAPP was designed by its founder, the late Black union electrician Walt McGill, as “SAT prep for building trades exams,” said his niece Kylee Pickens, who now runs the program. All their instructors are retired or current trades members. The program lasts one year, split into two semesters; classes are in the evenings. CAPP also helps place graduates into apprenticeships.
This program is housed at the Laborers District Council’s training center in North Philadelphia but aims to prepare participants for apprenticeships in various trades. The length is customized for each participant but is always at least eight weeks. The program will help you get your driver’s license.
This three-week program, run by the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative in partnership with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., gets people ready for union jobs at the Shipyard.