Trade pre-apprentice program is ‘no-brainer’ for Texans looking for a new career

This article originally appeared in the Courier Texas on May 2, 2025.

By Joi Louviere, Community Editor

This state-funded program gives cohorts from Austin, Houston, and DFW a pathway into green construction jobs, while paying them to learn

In high school, James Colbert Jr. was all about sports. But when he graduated and started college as a 100m sprinter, he realized it wasn’t the right environment for him. Wanting to invest in a career, he took an interest in construction and stumbled upon Texas Construction Career Pathways Apprentice Readiness Program, a state-funded workforce development program that teaches its students the skills they need to be placed in climate-friendly, union trade jobs. 

He wasn’t going at it alone, though. His mother, Lateisha Hayes would be his classmate. 

Hayes knew the value of trade jobs. Before joining the TCCP program, she was a truck driver, and then before that, she worked in culinary. Hayes’ desire for reinvention was inspired by her son’s journey. They entered the program together. She called it a “no-brainer.”

The Apprentice Readiness Program, run by the  Texas Climate Jobs Project, is about a year old and gives attendees a stipend to commit to the three-week program, covering childcare, cellphone, and transportation costs. To qualify, those interested just need to be 18 or over, have a high school diploma or GED, and be eligible to work in the US. 

“[Participants] don’t pay a dime,” said Christopher Gomez, the program’s coordinator. “ We believe that we are creating those high quality candidates to create a pipeline so that community members who may not have previously had access to these apprenticeship programs now are able to feel prepared and be highly competitive when applying to them.” 

Texas  has made big investments around climate infrastructure projects. The local unions TCCP partners with are responsible for building out those projects. Solar panel work and data centers are just some of the jobs available, and graduates of this program get placed in roles quickly. 

Gomez wishes there was a program like this around when he was finishing high school. The west Dallas native grew up in a single-parent, immigrant household, living in public housing and depending on the free and reduced lunch program in school. He’d spend the summers helping his electrician grandfather, earning a hundred bucks here and there. He ended up going to a state college on a scholarship, wanting to work in advocacy, so his work with TCCP is a combination of several loves, and more importantly, makes an impact on communities like the one he grew up in. 

“ I’m not helping this conceptual ‘other,’ it’s really like helping the neighbor that I’m walking past on the street, that I’m taking the DART with, that I’m running into at local public parks. Those are the folks that I’m really pushing to make sure that they are not able to just survive, but thrive over the next 10, 50, 100 years.”

The readiness program gets a diverse group of people, some in their early twenties and others in their fifties. Many come from families with a tradition of trade work and want to shape a career for themselves rather than simply having a job. Others are looking for a new career.

Justin Key thought the program was a scam. The 37-year-old received a text message about the upcoming cohort and texted back some basic information about himself. He received a message back to show up for class. 

The Chicago native became a Texan through his Army service. After ending his service, he enrolled at Lincoln Tech and studied CNC, controlling manufacturing machines via computers. He wants to master sheet metal work and devote himself to learning engineering principles. Key will start his work towards a bachelor’s in engineering this summer at Tarrant County College, before transferring to a four-year institution. The military was pivotal in Key feeling free to pursue the TCCP program and his career the way he wanted. 

“For the program itself, it’s perfect, he said. “If you don’t know your position, it’s just like the military… If you don’t know where you want to go, and you need a job, [then] if you are hands on, if you are very attentive and can take orders, you can work towards something.”

Union membership is another perk

Before becoming a program instructor and teaching a group of adults complex math problems, Amanda Castillo worked in accounting in the construction industry and then, after that, taught seventh grade math. 

While she expects there to be some learning gaps in a participant’s knowledge of math— oftentimes those struggles can’t be dealt with in a large, K-12 classroom environment—she realized a majority of her TCCP students needed an education on trade unions. Unions are a core part of the program and what participants stand to gain upon graduation. 

Key and Hayes said that learning more about the power of organizing as workers was a highlight in their experience. 

“The benefits, the pension, the 401k, getting paid for the hard work that you will be doing is another no-brainer,” Hayes said. 

Graduation Day

With three weeks, or about 120 hours, of studying, participants are ready for graduation. After taking an aptitude test—an assessment of the knowledge they’ve retained— they’ll be placed in a high-quality union job as apprentices in spaces like plumbing, sheet metal, pipefitting and iron welding, and electrical. 

The April 2025 DFW cohort gathered recently in an iron worker union building in Arlington as the Texas Climate Jobs team led the graduation ceremony. Participants heard from trade labor leader Leonard Aguilar and then a commencement speech from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Graduates also received congratulatory letters from Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. 

“ You have obtained a specific skill that will prepare you for careers in clean energy and union jobs, and this is exactly what is needed at this time,” Jenkins said. “ The most lucrative careers require constant learning for advancement. By completing this program, you’re taking another step towards a better job and ultimately a better career.” 

Antonio Swoops, another army veteran, is thankful for his time in the program. The 22-year-old had done a little electrician work before joining the military, so when he got out, he tried to pursue it again on his own, but said it was difficult without any certifications and limited experience. The apprenticeship readiness program has given him a competitive edge and option to pursue two different paths. 

Swoops came to graduation having already passed a pipefitting and welding test. 

“I actually have my orientation [for my new job] on May 30,” he said. “I like hard work, I like getting my hands dirty, so that’s probably the thing I’m most excited for.” 

Program participants won’t walk out with their diplomas and be on their own, though. They’ll receive structured monthly checkins for a year after their program ends. 

As community members congregate for the after graduation treat of tacos and bottled Coca- Cola, graduates make their last stop to a table holding brand-new toolkits and work boots for the road ahead. 

“They fit good,” one participant says as she stands up in a fresh pair of sleek, black Sketchers boots, the height of the boot nearly matching that of the fashionable riding boot on her opposite foot. The symbolism isn’t lost on the graduates. They’ve put new tools in their proverbial toolkits and now it’s time to put the “boots on the ground,” according to Swoops. The apprenticeship program prepared them thoroughly. Now it’s time to get to work.

“I knew I could do it, but now I know I can do it,” Colbert said smiling. 

The Texas Climate Jobs Project staff are gearing up for the next cohort. Hear more stories and learn about what’s next by following their Instagram page or checking out this interest survey.