Solano Workforce Development Board to offer apprentice training

Solano Workforce Development Board is offering a free pre-apprenticeship training program.

The board offers a sixweek pre-apprenticeship training for young adults ages 18 to 24 that will help them to complete all the training they need for an introductory trades position at no cost to them.

The pre-apprenticeship training will be offered 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, April 3 to May 19, at the Fairfield Adult School.

“This program will truly open doors for their future,” said Nel Sweet-Davis, an employability specialist with the Workforce Development Board of Solano County and an organizer of the training program. “It's more than the trades. It will encompass so many industries, industries that are becoming very common here in Solano County. We encourage the students to see this as a kickstart program to their future in the trades or labor industry.”

The program will include four industry certifications, the Hazardous Waste and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) training, construction fundamentals, concrete pouring techniques, trades math and fitness training.

The first days of the program will include mentorship and entrepreneur training. From there students will complete the OSHA 10 safety course and trainings for traffic control flaggers and confined space awareness.

Additional topics include first aid and CPR, construction building, framing and concrete. The group will work on a project on-site for hands-on training.

Once students pass the course and can apply for the unions, the Workforce Development Board of Solano County will pay initiation fees into the unions for the first three months.

“It's not often you find something where this is all available to you in one place,” Sweet-Davis said.

Prospective students must be between ages 18 and 24; able to read, speak and write basic English; pass a drug test; authorized to work in the United States; have a valid driver's license; and preferably, a high school diploma or GED.

For more information and to register for an informational session, contact Joyce Ugweje at (707) 863-3533 or jugweje@solanowdb.org.