Adrian is second from right. After turning thirty, Adrian was looking for a different quality of life and decided he wanted a career. After being a server for 4 years, he stared thinking about health care and retirement benefits, something his job as a server was not providing him. “When I was younger, I didn’t really think about how important health care and retirement benefits were,” Adrian said. He had heard about a program that ... View Article

Nicole was working 2 jobs to make ends meet for her family. “No one wants to leave work to turn around and go back to work,” Nicole stated. She heard about the apprenticeship readiness program Building Strong Communities, a program that introduces people to the building and construction trades and prepares them for the industry. For Nicole, it sounded like a good way to get a foot in the door in the construction trades. After finishing her ... View Article

Derek has worked as a server, restaurant manager and as a conveyor belt technician in mines and in boat yards. “When I was a conveyor belt technician, I saw building and construction trades working in the field and heard about the benefits and job security and I was interested in learning more,” Derek said. In learning about the construction trades through a program called Building Strong Communities, a multi-craft apprenticeship readiness ... View Article

Dustin, a carpenter based out of Austin, Minnesota has just finished his apprenticeship training and is a member of Carpenters Local 1382. “The best part about the apprenticeship program was getting to learn from all the different people in the trades. I was fortunate to be able to work with some great journeymen, some were close to retirement age. I learned a lot from them, and I look forward to teaching people who come up under me.” Dustin ... View Article