Pre-Apprenticeship Program for Upper Manhattan Residents Graduates its Second Cohort

A pre-apprenticeship program for minorities, women, and Upper Manhattan residents to break into the construction industry graduated 25 students, including five women, in its second cohort at a ceremony held at Columbia University on December 4, 2019.  Councilmember Mark Levine was among the day’s speakers.    

The program is delivered by Pathways to Apprenticeship (P2A) in partnership with the West Harlem Development Corporation, NYC Department of Small Business Services and Columbia University, and is one of many that P2A operates across the city to provide necessary training to residents in low-income communities to gain opportunities in New York City’s booming construction industry.  

Over the course of five weeks, participants receive key skills and safety trainings, including an OSHA 30-hour training certificate, needed to qualify for apprenticeship opportunities with local construction unions.  A certificate is awarded upon completion of the program. 

Columbia assists individuals in the program to establish relationships with Turner Construction Corp., the University’s construction management firm for the new Business School, to help candidates apply to related apprenticeships with area unions that may be available, including on Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus development in West Harlem. 

Since P2A started in 2013, the organization has assisted 268 people from across New York City, 66 percent of whom are formerly incarcerated, with admission into building trades apprenticeship programs. More than 85 percent of these graduates are still working in the building trades, and many of them have become P2A Peer Mentors, teaching classes and conducting information sessions.

The next cohort for Upper Manhattan residents is planned for 2020.