A 2024 cohort of North Bay Trades Introduction Program students on a job site visit in Windsor. [Photo courtesy North Bay TIP]
José Eduardo Vera Velásquez, owner of Bee Vera Construction, Inc. in Healdsburg, came to the U.S. in 1991 from Putla Villa de Guerrero in Oaxaca, Mexico. “I went to college to be a construction technician in Mexico. When I came to the U.S., I wanted to be an architect. It would have taken too long for me to go back to school for that. So I started working in construction. In 2020, I established my own business,” says Vera Velásquez. Vera Velásquez says he is still working to become fluent in English. He has taken language classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. One of the big shifts he experienced when he moved to the U.S. was understanding materials. “In Mexico, we mostly use brick, concrete and rebar. In the U.S., we use more materials, including different types of wood,” says Vera Velásquez. Wilber Barrios, owner of Make It Right Carpentry in Novato, came to the U.S. from Guatemala as a teenager. He started working in construction part time at the age of 15 while attending Terra Linda High School. “After that I was always in construction. I became a carpenter. In 2017, I took a construction class with Canal Alliance. In 2020, I established my own business. I have about eight employees, with most of the crew from Guatemala and one from Mexico. About 75% of my workers already had a background in construction before I hired them,” says Barrios. The role of training Multiple programs across Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties train people in construction, the English language and entrepreneurship. These range from hands-on construction
programs between one and four weeks to academic programs at colleges and universities. North Bay TIP offers a 128-hour construction apprenticeship readiness training that shifts its location and type of schedule. “We aim for 20 people in a cohort and typically a few drop out. We and our grant partners can offer financial assistance for gas money, childcare and other support. The course prepares graduates for apprenticeship and a career in the trades,” says Cuneo. One of the most significant components of the class is training to interview for jobs. “Without knowing English, an individual can be a good worker. If they know how to read and write English, they can become a boss. English is also helpful to know because most blueprints are written in English,” says Cuneo. Canal Alliance, in partnership with College of Marin, offers a six-week-long hands-on “basic training” in construction. “Since 2018, approximately 300 individuals joined the program, with 245 people completing it. The average income of a participant when they started was $19.50 an hour. After they completed the program, it was $28.10 an hour,” says Axel Flores, workforce development senior manager at Canal Alliance. The class is given in English, so students have to know enough English to understand what is being discussed. The Marin Builders Association partners with the program because its members often hire program graduates. “We follow graduates for two years after they complete the program, offering wrap-around services like helping them find work and seeing if we can help them get a work permit. Out of the 245 graduates… only three are unemployed,” says Flores.
34 NorthBaybiz
August 2024
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