Eighty-seven future union trades apprentices graduated from the Building Strong Communities Program this May, the seventh class of cohorts in the program’s history. Developed in partnership with the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trade Council, metropolitan Council, North Hennepin Community College, trade unions and community partners, Building Strong Communities (BSC) is the first state-recognized multi-trade apprenticeship preparatory program that prepares participants for a career in the construction industry. This year the program’s participants spanned the generational divide, from a young woman graduating high school in a month to a middle-aged man who’s a former math teacher wanting a new career. 

It’s the fourth class for Rick Martagon, Executive Director of BSC. “It’s a lot of work but it’s very enjoyable,” Martagon said. “It’s very impactful for the people involved. Adults have a vested interest in their future. We have to deliver a program to help them get to where they want to be.”

Each of the graduates will eventually have a career in a trade with the chance to make a great living, continue their education in registered apprenticeship programs and, ultimately, wind up as a journeyworker with all the benefits a career in the trades provides.

One new feature to this year’s program is a class called “Pathways to Placement,” a weekly workshop of best practices where students learn how to search for a career in construction. A lot of it is just an old fashioned numbers game – the more people you call the greater your chance of having success. But the underlying message is BSC is there to “guide them through the process,” says Martagon. The class starts during the last four weeks of the 12 week program and continues into the summer.  

Added Martagon, “For the graduates, it’s just the beginning. Years from now they’ll have retired from a career in a trade of choice. And what could be better than that?”

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