Belinda Whitfield, a mother of five living in public housing, graduated Thursday ready to start work as an electrician. Whitfield (pictured at right, with boots already laced) was one of 32 graduates of a program aiming to land more of those school-construction jobs for women and minorities.
“This is a career you can grow with —‚Äù a great opportunity,” said Whitfield at the graduation ceremony for the city’s Construction Workforce Initiative 2, in the Hall of Records Thursday. “It opens up a lot of doors for women.”
Well, a few: Out of the 32 graduates, two were women. Both have already snatched up union membership as electricians. The group went through a series of tests —‚Äù drug, mechanical, algebra and reading, using a tape measure. They studied how to ace interviews and properly fill out job applications. Men in the program, which is run by the city’s Commission on Equal Opportunities, are still waiting for their chance, in upcoming months, to join plumbing and sprinkler-fitting unions.
(Click here to watch a video Tom Ficklin made at the event.)
The point of the program is to boost minorities into jobs that enable them to “take care of your family, have a pension, and retire with dignity,” said Nichole Jefferson, executive director of Construction Workforce Initiative 2.
Ideally, graduates will become entrepreneurs, she said. “We want more small, minority-owned businesses to start large minority businesses.”
George Cunningham is a perfect example. He was just out of prison, living in a halfway house, and on his way to commit suicide when he came across a flyer for the class.
“I drank, I did the drugs, I did the hangin’ out, I did everything,” he said, taking the podium after a series of others delivered pep talks to graduates. “But when I heard about this program,” he seized the chance.
He graduated “with zero cents” and went on to start his own business, Cunningham Paint. He told the class they’d better be thankful for what the program offered. “These people invest big time! They get on the phones and call big people for you!” Empower New Haven, one of the class’s sponsors, showed up touting programs that offer help getting driver’s licenses, cars and health insurance.
“Who else gonna give it to you like that?” asked Cunningham.
The program has also been key in helping the city meet quotas —‚Äù 25 percent minority, 6.9 percent female and 25 percent New Haven residents —‚Äù for the school construction project. The project has an estimated six years left, and employees 200 to 500 people at a time, according to officials.
At first, the city struggled to get minority workers, and city residents, with GEDs and cars. Now, with the help of this program’s screening efforts, the city’s over the mark: 35 to 38 percent of workers are minorities, said Jefferson. She knows because her job is to nab the city with fines if it doesn’t comply. The program, which has run since 2003, offers two free classes per year. The next one starts in July.
