Training program adds diversity to construction industry, changes lives

Listen to this article

In the quest to get more workers for the construction industry, one local labor union established a pre-apprenticeship program geared specifically for women and are offering it for the first time in Allentown.

The Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters, which has a training center in Allentown, launched the program that teaches women the skills construction employers want from employees. The union covers seven states and has about 44,000 members.

Sisters in the Brotherhood is a free pre-apprenticeship program that offers women the skills they need to succeed in a construction career.

The Allentown training center on Vultee Street offers space for blueprint training, one-on-one classroom instruction and hands-on practice in similar real world construction settings that allow the students to train on lifts, install ceilings, and perform electrical work among other tasks.

“It’s a combination of training here and then work out in the field,” said Susan Schultz, council representative of the Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters.

Welding is one of the in-demand skills, and something carpenters do a lot of on jobs, said Francis Schlenner, instructor for the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Committee of Philadelphia and Vicinity.

The training center offers welding bays for students to practice the skill. In addition, it has aerial lift-operator-certification training and scaffold-erector-certification training.

“We start with the basics and work our way up,” Schlenner said.

The Allentown six-week pre-apprenticeship program had five women enrolled for its first year and four of them graduated Sept. 13. The next program starts Nov. 4.

Ultimately, one of the program’s key components is to help women find a life-long career in the field and join the carpenters union.

“We have high expectations with the idea we want to prepare them for a career in construction,” Schultz said. “We are looking for them to retire with us. It really is a commitment to increase the number of women in our union.”

The curriculum includes math, safety and hands-on strength-building exercises for commercial work in the industry.

For Layla Bibi, it was important to find people who looked like her and worked in the construction industry. It helped her to believe she could succeed in the field. Therefore, she decided to become one herself. She entered the construction field through the pre-apprenticeship program in New Jersey and now shares her experience with other women.

“I didn’t see many women involved,” she said. “It doesn’t really convince me unless I see someone, it just changes the view.”

Bibi, council representative of the Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters, taught four classes in Edison, New Jersey, which were larger. The organization ran four each year, she said.

Having been through the program, Bibi could understand what it’s like for them to think, “Can I survive the pre-apprenticeship?”

Many people don’t understand the benefits, but also the hard work, she said.

“We’ve found women don’t realize the opportunities in the construction industry,” Schultz said. “It has to be a person who doesn’t mind working hard. We have a stringent screening process because we want them to be successful.”

Free program

The pre-apprenticeship program is free and the union provides each woman with a $50 stipend, which includes the cost of tools they get to keep.

Though the women essentially get paid to participate, the program consists of eight-hour days, five days a week, so they are making a commitment, Schultz added.

Schlenner said the union’s goal is to help the women not simply find a job, but a career.

“It’s very skilled, it’s hard work,” Schultz said. “That’s why the emphasis on training is so important. The amount of money we invest in our membership is what makes a big difference in the skill level.”

The union follows changes in the industry and adapts to new types of technology, updating its curriculum to address that so participants are training with equipment that’s used in the field.

“Technology is going to come no matter what,” Schlenner said. “We’d rather have them learn it.”

With the growth of hospital construction, the union has three mock-up rooms at its training center that mimic what it’s like to work in hospital settings and follow the proper safety precautions.

About five years ago, the union started implementing a program to get more women involved in the construction industry. Having decided a pre-apprenticeship program was the most effective way, it added new marketing materials and started doing outreach, Schultz said.

That outreach has been finding its way to women seeking careers in the industry.

One of the students, Ana Quiles of Bethlehem, said the union helped her a lot.

“I’ve actually been looking to get into the trade for a while,” Quiles said. “The free school, that helps out a lot.”

The math is hard, she said, but enjoys learning how to build things.

“I’m planning to go more into welding,” Quiles said. “You can expand the knowledge of what you are going to do.”

Keila Ramos of Allentown, another student, likes carpentry and the stability it offers.

“I love carpentry and anything and everything with carpentry,” she said. “The carpentry industry is something that’s not going anywhere. It’s stability.”

She has learned how to use different tools and, among other skills, learned how to install framing and drywall.

Running a pre-apprenticeship program such as this could cost anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000, Schultz said. She sees it as a program with far reaching effects, particularly for women seeking a career change, upward mobility and a well-paying job without student-loan debt.

“This program can transform someone’s life,” Schultz said. “It can change their kid’s life. It can change the structure of a community.”