BUILDING BOSTON: Boston contractors, locals use programs to recruit women, minorities into the trade Across the country, SMACNA and SMART are heeding
the need for recruitment efforts, finding creative solutions to labor needs, and developing robust programs that reach women, minorities, and those in urban areas—offering opportunities for a career and a new life. Jim Morgan, president of Worcester Air Conditioning, serves as the president of Boston-area SMACNA and as a Local 17 JATC trustee, and is keenly aware of the needs of the training center and those of contractors. “The Boston-area sheet metal contractors have been working hard to boost women and minorities in the trade,” he says. “[Training director] John Healy has been instrumental in reaching out to find pools of candidates. As a contractor, we have found Building Pathways an excellent vehicle to bring those raised in an urban environment into the trades, especially women and minorities.” The first pre-apprenticeship building trades program in Boston, Building Pathways was created by current Boston Mayor Marty Walsh when he was president of the Boston Building Trades Association. To date, more than 300 low income minorities and women from the metropolitan Boston area have participated in the program. The Building Pathways Building Trades Pre-Apprenticeship Program began in 2011 by the Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District (MetroBTC) to course correct inequalities in apprenticeship for women, people of color, and others in under-served communities. In 2015, this led to the formation of Building Pathways, Inc., a nonprofit organization, which now operates the pre-apprenticeship program. At its core, it is a six-week pre-apprenticeship program that allows students to explore 15 different building trades, choosing 4 » Partners in Progress » www.pinp.org
Shamaiah Turner, journeyperson, entered Local 17’s apprentice program through Building Pathways. Submitted by John Healy.
one at the end in which to proceed into an apprenticeship and hopefully begin a career. Shamaiah Turner, now a journeyperson, chose sheet metal and entered Local 17’s apprentice program through Building Pathways, graduating in 2017. “One of their stars,” says Healy, Turner continues to work to recruit on behalf of the career she loves. “You’re learning new things, but you’re also setting up your life,” she says. “Sometimes [college] doesn’t work out. I have
