'Amazing' Pre-Apprenticeship Program Transforms Lives In New Rochelle

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — There are plenty of advantages to living in the Hudson Valley, but those advantages don't always feel available to everyone.

Even as New Rochelle's ascending skyline offers something of a boon for developers and a gold rush for investors, the financial benefits have been slow to reach those who could use them the most. A unique program in the Queen City on the Sound is helping to change that.

The "Pathways to Apprenticeship" (P2A) initiative offers the opportunity for a head start and new connections for a bright future in highly competitive and lucrative trades.

City officials say that New Rochelle is primed to create and support a well-trained and educated workforce, partly because of programs like P2A, which work to train and equip workers for well-paying jobs.

For the second time, New Rochelle partnered with Pathways to Apprenticeship, Inc. and Westhab, on a pre-apprenticeship program. This comprehensive program, funded by the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency (NRIDA), was designed to connect under-employed residents of New Rochelle with a construction union apprenticeship program in New York City and Westchester County to offer a pathway to steady, family-sustaining employment.

"New Rochelle is committed to investing in our residents," New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson said. "When we provide workers with training, skills, and opportunities, all of us benefit. Thanks to the hard work of the students and mentors at Pathways to Apprenticeship, our community is primed for sustainable, equitable growth."

But this is by no means just a feel good program. The course offers prospective apprentices the safety certificates, workplace skills and training that will offer an inside track to good paying union trade jobs, but it's no cakewalk.

Showing up every day, on time, with no exceptions is the minimum requirement for graduation.

"They don't mess around," P2A graduate Travis Wright told Patch. "They almost kicked me out, but I made it. The program is amazing. I would recommend it anyone. It's not just that you get paid, it's the fellowship, the brotherhood that changes how you feel about yourself and your future."

After he graduated from P2A, Wright entered a union apprentice program and is in the third year of a five-year apprenticeship program.

"It helped to have that inside track," Wright said. "There's a whole list of training and certificates you need to have before they will take you on [as an apprentice]. I already have those because of P2A. It would have taken time and money to do that on my own."

P2A trains and prepares individuals to move into union apprenticeships where they will be sent out to work and receive free training in an “earn - while - learn” model. Additionally, P2A mentors individuals from low-income communities — including the formerly incarcerated, individuals on public assistance and residents living in public housing — to succeed in the intensive five-week all-day training program.

This program is envisioned as a pathway to family-sustaining, middle-class careers for graduates. P2A, working with the Westchester and Putnam County Building Trades, serves as a link between community organizations that assist low-income communities and the building trades industry.

"P2A was proud to work with the New Rochelle Alliance for Justice and our community partners, our union partners with the Westchester Building Trades, the City of New Rochelle and Westhab to bring real career opportunities to the community," Pathways to Apprenticeship President Mike Hellstrom said. "When cities like New Rochelle invest in union construction and responsible development, more residents will benefit."

The most recent class of twelve New Rochelle residents graduated this past summer, with five participants hired for employment with local unions even before their graduation ceremony. Organizers say the search for employment for the remaining graduates is sure to be a success as the participants are primed to work after their apprenticeships.

The connection to trade unions and the training go a long way towards helping the graduates find spots as apprentices, but Bernard Callegari, who has facilitated the P2A program, said there are intangibles offered by the training.

"P2A Graduates are in demand as job candidates," Callegari explained. "Employers know that the P2A grads have already proven they have the practical skills and qualities that will make successful, like showing up on time, or early, and knowing what is expected."

Recent New Rochelle graduate Jeffrey Marin echoed those sentiments

"My experience with the Pathways to Apprenticeship program has inspired me," Marin said. "My instructors were incredibly helpful, forming a true brotherhood and offering me hope. Thanks to this program and the relationships I’ve made while learning, I feel truly prepared to enter into the workforce."

Since its founding in 2013, P2A has trained and placed hundreds of individuals in union apprenticeship programs, according to the organization. Graduates have gone on to become full journey workers, shop stewards, and leaders in their unions and in their communities. The success is expected to continue with next year’s program.

Program supporters include the New Rochelle Alliance for Justice, Westchester Putnam Building and Construction Trades, United Community Center of Westchester, New Rochelle’s master developer RXR and WestCOP.

In 2017, New Rochelle selected Westhab to operate the First Source Referral Center (FSRC) to ensure that residents of the city obtain the training and opportunities created by the unprecedented downtown revitalization. The FSRC provides free job training and job placement assistance to all New Rochelle residents seeking employment. FSRC worked closely with the New Rochelle Alliance for Justice and P2A on a grassroots recruitment effort for the program and will provide ongoing support for all the graduates.