Civicorps apprenticeship gives Oakland woman another chance
Founded in 1983, the organization offers paid job training for young people
OAyLANc » There was a time when the future did not look all that promising for Lily Nguyen.
When she was 18, Nguyen was expelled from Oakland High School on MacArthur Boulevard after she ditched classes, dropped assignments and compiled a history of disruptive behavior.
Home life was not much better. She frequently fought with her Vietnamese immigrant parents. She admits she was “hanging out with the wrong crowd.”
Nguyen left home and bounced from place to place, staying where she could.
“I couldn’t stay focused,” she said.
Then a friend mentioned Civicorps, which provides young people a chance to earn a high school diploma, develop job skills while getting paid or even do both at the same time.
Nguyen enrolled in February 2015. Soon after, she faced another hurdle. She learned she was pregnant.
But Nguyen pushed on and got
her diploma. Now her son is 5 and she is working as an apprentice driver for Waste Management of Alameda County, a position she secured in August through Civicorps.
“They have a tremendous support team and counselors who will go above and beyond to help you out,” Nguyen, 28, said about the West Oakland program.
Founded in 1983, Civicorps is modeled on the Civilian Conservation Corps, the public works relief effort that provided young men with jobs that enriched the natural environment during the Great Depression. It operates a charter school under the Oakland Unified School District for its diploma classes.
One job training program teaches skills in what Civicorps calls environmental enhancement and mitigation. It’s a partnership with 11 public agencies, including Caltrans and the East Bay Regional Park District. Students work part or full time and earn $14.14 an hour.
Civ icorps also trains students, such as Nguyen, for truck- driving careers by having them provide commercial recycling collection services to Oakland businesses. The nonprofit partners with Waste Management, Teamsters Local 70 and the city of Oakland to offer the driver training.
The students take part in a pre-apprenticeship program for two to four years and earn their Class B driver’s license while driving Civicorps recycling trucks on six routes, collecting recycling from 1,200 customers.
Students at Civicorps range from ages 18 to 26, and most have had difficult times in their personal lives. All want a better future for themselves.
“It’s pretty extraordinary to talk with the students and learn about their lives and the barriers they face outside,” said Rachel Eisner, the director of development and communications at Civicorps. “But we are here as a family to support them.”
Students at Civicorps pay no tuition. Anyone interested in enrolling simply fills out a document expressing interest. There were 270 students last year
and 47 staffers, Eisner said.
Along with classes and job training, Civicorps has a kitchen with free bag lunches and weekly groceries available for students.
Funding for the programs come from state and federal grants, corporate sponsorships and private donations, as well as from local businesses and agencies as a result of the services Civicorps students provide via its training programs.
“This is what allows our students to maintain their enrollment,” Eisner said. “Our goal is to mitigate any obstacles students may be facing so that they can stay
in the program.”
Civicorps also has received funding this year from Share the Spirit, an annual holiday campaign that serves disadvantaged residents in the East Bay. Donations will help support 41 nonprofit agencies in Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
Eisner said the nonprofit plans to use the Share the Spirit grant to help pay a counselor’s salary.
So far, eight people enrolled in the Civicorps program have been apprentices with Waste Management, and six have been hired full time, said Paul Rosynsky, a company spokesman. The starting salary for a driver at Waste Management is $30.20 an hour, with full benefits, he said.
As an apprentice driver, Nguyen’s current salary is $24.16 an hour, with raises scheduled as she completes her apprenticeship, which ends in August 2022.
Her route takes in Oakland’s Montclair and Chinatown districts and eastern parts of the city. Her shift starts at 4:30 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m.
“I am starting to get used to it,” she said. “It can be still tough to get out of bed sometimes when it’s so early.”
But she’s grateful to those who helped her secure the job, despite the grueling hours.
“Without a doubt, I wouldn’t be at Waste Management if it wasn’t for Civicorps,” Nguyen said.