Construction Apprenticeship Expo Gives Chinatown Residents Helping Hand
July 21, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly 300 Chinatown residents interested in vocational training gathered at the Charity Cultural Services Center on Stockton Street to participate in the Construction Apprenticeship Expo on June 18.
More than 10 unions from the construction industry presented their vocational training programs to the Chinatown residents, who were a mix of immigrants and low-income workers.
The unions that attended represented a diverse set of occupations that included carpentry, glass installation, plumbing and iron working. All offer apprenticeship programs that allow participants to learn a trade and work simultaneously. Though salaries vary by trade, apprentices generally earn $15 to $20 per hour. After they become journeymen, or professionals, the participants can earn up to $40 per hour.
The Center hopes to prepare Chinatown residents for the labor demand that will accompany two upcoming construction projects: the planned Central Subway and a new extension of the San Francisco City College, both of which will take place at least partly in Chinatown.
The Construction Apprenticeship Expo is an event the Center hopes to organize annually. “Hopefully, we’ll help the new immigrants and low-income families become self-sufficient,” said Sonya Soder, program director of the Expo.
The Charity Cultural Services Center aims to help children, youth and adults “prepare a better future through education, employment training and other essential services that promote personal and economic self-sufficiency.”
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