Archive for category: Missouri Apprentice Ready Program

“Our role is to help with up front needs assessment and to assist students throughout their classroom experience by helping them overcome any barriers that would prevent their participation,” says Greg. “ We connect them with hotel rooms, transportation, or other resources in our community that they need. We want everyone who starts the program to finish the program because we think it’s a game changer.”

Missouri Apprentice Ready helps build community ownership by changing lives with sustainable career opportunities, which aligns with United Way’s upstream focus of helping individuals overcome the barriers to self sufficiency. “I have personally seen lives changed because of the Missouri Apprentice Ready program. Individuals go from living in cars or couch surfing to financial independence, and we think that is amazing,” says Greg. We help with housing, transportation, food insecurity, and whatever is necessary to keep them in class.” 

One of Greg’s favorite moments in the program is graduation. “That’s when you see it all come together. Friends and family come to the ceremony to celebrate students and what they’ve accomplished. The trades are there too–not only to celebrate, but to offer jobs. These are the goosebump moments because you have people who have gone through the program showing what they can do, and the labor trades are pitching them job offers. Sometimes graduates have multiple offers to choose from when a few weeks before, they had no stable job prospects,” says Greg. “They are quickly in a position to have a level of ownership in their community and help spread hope to others, coming full circle. Helping your neighbor weaves a tighter social fabric that benefits everyone.” 

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When approached by Rudy Chavez with the offer to become a supporter of the Kansas City area Missouri Apprentice Ready program, it was an easy yes for Mark One Electric President and CEO, Rosanna Privitera-Biondo. “We had worked together previously through IBEW Local 124 and wanted to move forward,” says Privitera-Biondo. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to help find future tradespeople in Missouri – they offer 20-plus trade opportunities!”

A trusted Kansas City electrical company, Mark One Electric believes in the Missouri Apprentice Ready program and illustrates their support by providing their local program with a space to meet and conduct training. But they don’t stop there. Additionally, they give students and instructors access to necessary tools and equipment at no charge to the program. 

Founded in 1974 by Rosanna’s parents, Carl and Josephine Privitera, Mark One has been giving back to the Kansas City area for decades. They began by servicing small business, commercial and industrial accounts and quickly developed a reputation for completing difficult jobs for demanding clients and were soon working in major plants and industrial facilities across the country. Mark One has continued to evolve and diversify, offering an impressive scope of electrical construction services from design, build and pre-construction to underground, data/communications and specialty systems.

With over 200 employees they are considered the specialty contractor of choice for the Kansas City construction community. “We care about the people of Missouri. We want to give them opportunities to work with their hands in a good industry that has many opportunities in the construction industry,” says Rosanna. “This program is helping by educating people about all the opportunities that the construction industry has to offer for tradespeople. It shows them that this is a good field to work in with endless possibilities.

Mark One Electric has hosted two cohorts and always engages to support students’ career readiness. They currently employ two Missouri Apprentice Ready Kansas City participants – Cohort 2 graduate John Weir and  Cohort 5 graduate  Naomi Alexander who are IBEW 124 apprentices. “If you’re looking for a way to start a career in the union trades and gain valuable connections that carry on even after you graduate, then this program is where you want to be,” says Naomi.

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“As a single mom, I used to work two jobs without benefits and still couldn’t afford my own place to live,” says Ciji. After completing the five week Apprentice Ready Program, she is now employed full-time with Laborers 663, including benefits. Having achieved the economic stability to provide a home for her family and regain custody of her son, Ciji is no longer uncertain of the future.

Wanting to create a better life for herself and her son, Ciji didn’t know where to turn until her Kansas City halfway house counselor gave her an Apprentice Ready Program flier. She quickly moved to Springfield and joined its first cohort. She was mildly concerned about being a woman pursuing the building trades, but as she made connections through the Missouri Works Initiative and United Way of the Ozarks, she grew confident in her decision. As for the physicality of the work, Ciji says the experience “…has taught me that I can work just as good as a man.”

After a week of orientation, Ciji was able to visit each trade, eventually choosing the Labor Union. “I do a lot of concrete, demolition, commercial remodeling, and job site cleanup. I like that every day I can do something different,” she says.

Ciji is already looking to the future, when one day she hopes to become a foreman. She says, “I’d love to be able to work my way up the ladder–to accomplish that. My life now is so much better than the life I was living. The pay is great, I have job security, and everyday is a new learning experience. If you’re out there considering this program, just do it! Quit putting it off and take that first step!”

 

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