Trades apprenticeship open to Kings County residents

Eman Shurbaji

Jul 21, 2016  

Kings County's construction boom not only means there will be jobs in the finished Costco or new jail, but jobs building the facilities, too.

This is the logic behind the Job Training Office's construction pre-apprenticeship training initiative, which began four weeks ago. The training course — which began with physical training and professionalism skills — has now transitioned into positioning students to learn how to do work such as carpentry and plumbing.

It's the first time that Kings County has offered a pre-apprenticeship offered in conjunction with Fresno and Tulare counties, program manager Vince Velo said. "It’s a special grant that was applied to the state and was granted to Fresno and a cohort of seven [Central Valley] counties were involved."

The program is in Fresno, and six Kings County residents are registered. The program allows up to 25 Kings and Tulare County residents to register; 12 Kings residents can enroll at one time.

The next class is slated to start mid-August, but only if enough people enroll, Vello said.

The six-week course allows students to learn skills for union trade jobs. It's free, and students get reimbursed for care mileage.

Participants learn construction skills including carpentry, welding, plumbing and pipe fitting, electrical work; solar panel installation, heating ventilation and air conditioning maintenance.

“It helps them get placed on the [job] list, because they’re getting pre-training that helps them when they do take the test with the union," program director Jesse Ortiz said. "It allows them to hopefully get placed higher on the list for employment."

Participants aren't guaranteed a job once they complete the program, but are placed on a list for jobs with several unions. Upon completing the program, participants are invited for an interview, and are  likely to be offered post-apprenticeship training and eventually a job, Ortiz said.

Hanford resident William Domingo, 35, says the program has been "immensely" informative, and is preparing him for his dream career.

"I'd like to go into the solar fields, and work on large-scale industrial projects," he said. "My goal is to put myself in a position to be financially stable and ultimately be a licensed contractor."

Domingo, who is a father of three children and previously worked for an electrical systems company, says he's happy the program will put him in a "position to be hired with applicable skills."

Veteran Terry Miller agrees.

Miller, 59, is also from Hanford. He says he took a trigonometry class Wednesday through the program, and has learned how to do electrician-work so far. He says that although he has no career goal, he's hopeful the skills he's learned will help him get a job.

“What I’ve learned here is very informative," Miller said. "Even if this isn’t what I choose [to do for a living], I still learned a lot."

Apprenticeship qualifications

High school diploma

Driver's license

Pass background check

Pass drug screening

Contact information

Apply: www.valleybuild.net/

Contact: Jesse Ortiz, 585-6699

Visit: Kings Job Training Office, 124 N Irwin St, Hanford, CA

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