Buffalo, NY – Mayor Byron W. Brown was joined today by Paul Brown, President of the Buffalo Building and Trades Council, for a ceremony marking the graduation of the fourth class of the Mayor’s Pre-Apprentice Training Program. Today’s class of five graduates join 14 men and women have completed the eight-week, paid program which introduces students to a variety of career paths in the building trades.
“This is the only Department of Labor-certified ‘Direct Entry’ training program in the region! That means our graduates can be accepted directly into union training programs without having to be tested and ranked, which is the normal admissions process for union apprenticeships. To date, seven of our first 14 graduates have been accepted into union apprentice programs, and we have very high hopes for today’s five graduates,” Mayor Brown said.
The Pre-Apprentice Training Program, taught by union journeymen, is part of the Northland Project Labor Agreement between the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation and the Buffalo Building and Construction Trades Council, which is tied to construction of the $65 million Northland Workforce Training Center.
Under the June 2017 agreement, the Brown Administration, in partnership with the Buffalo Trades Council, agreed to create 20 training slots targeting job seekers in zip codes in and around the Northland neighborhood. The goal is to ensure Buffalo’s diverse communities share in the promise of construction jobs created by this game-changing project.
As the region’s only Department of Labor-certified ‘Direct Entry’ training program in the region, graduates can be accepted directly into union training programs without having to be tested and ranked, which is the normal admissions process for union apprenticeships. Following the ceremony, the graduates toured various union hall to start their application process.
“I want to thank Paul Brown and the Buffalo Building and Trades Council for its continued partnership in this innovative program which targets job seekers in zip codes in and around the Northland neighborhood. The goal is to ensure Buffalo’s diverse communities share in the promise of construction jobs created by this game-changing project,” Mayor Brown said.
The City’s 5th Pre-Apprentice Training class will get underway in early 2019. The City has also pledged to train at least another 20 pre-apprentices.