The Trenton Times published the following article on October 26, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Trenton Housing Authority pre-apprenticeship program prepares workers for union jobs
By Nicole Mulvaney/The Times of Trenton
on October 26, 2013 at 7:40 AMTRENTON — The 204 Rush Crossing apartments and townhouses under construction on the site of the former Miller Homes complex on Lincoln Avenue have brought hope of better dwellings for many city residents. Now, the project will offer career potential for laborers who have long wished for steady work in the trades but lacked the necessary skills.
Representatives from local trade unions, building developers and city officials stood inside one of the unfinished buildings yesterday to announce a new pre-apprenticeship program designed for construction workers interested in learning to become fully skilled craftsmen capable of building careers for themselves, rather than working perpetual side jobs.
“We really needed to do something so people can have some kind of career,” Herbert Brown, executive director of the Trenton Housing Authority, said. “We aren’t providing jobs for unskilled or semi-skilled workers. We’re offering people a way to learn a trade and enjoy a solid, good-paying career.”
The skills training program will prepare workers for a regular, four-year apprenticeship with local unions. Once they complete that, laborers will graduate to being journeymen, which is a worker considered fully trained in a craft but not yet a master.