Where do I begin?

- I think a lot of what draws people is the opportunity to earn and make a living while you're actually learning a trade, a skill that's going to carry you through your life. It's also a lot of it is ongoing training and education opportunities because that's what apprenticeship starts out at. It's learning, on-the-job training. You're working with a mentor or a journey person who's teaching you their scope of work and then you're also backing it up with technical training in the classroom. So, the benefit of on-the-job and technical training, really at no cost to the person, is fantastic. Earning that progressive wage. So the more they learn and the more proficient their skillset gets, they actually earn a higher wage and then at the end, they have a really excellent portable credential that they earn. And oftentimes it also provides college credits towards an associate's degree. - Our program's a two year program. After two years, you're journeyed out making top dollar with full health benefits for your family and you're starting to put away a pension plan. Oregon laborers, we are able to retire after 80 and out, which is if I'm 55-years-old and 25 years of service, that's 80 years and now you can retire out. So if you get in at 18-years-old you can pretty much retire by the time you're 49. - So someone looking to get into the laborer's trade can go online to our website oregonlaborers.com. We have an online application process that's super easy. So they go online and they watch the videos. Go through all the links. If they're interested in what we have to offer they apply online. They have to meet the minimum requirements which is age, 18 years of age and the educational requirement. Super easy to apply. One of the focuses of our apprenticeship is through your two year term, little bit more or less for some people, you're going to learn all the basic fundamental skills that are going to make you successful no matter where you end up in the construction craft laborers trade. But you will also get the opportunity to learn some specialty skills and you're going to end up in that niche, in that scope of work that really hits it for you. Some people that's concrete. Some people it's infrastructure work on bridges or on tunnels and roadways. - So once the apply, we bring 'em in for an interview, it's a panel of three people, their interview. They'll get ranked on that interview. After they get ranked, then we take the top 25 or 30 people or however many people we're bringing in for that moment. - [Woman] For somebody who doesn't have experience, we teach them the skillsets that they need. So, they don't have to have a background in construction. They come to us, they bring their minimum qualifications, we give 'em the skillsets, the education, the on-the-job training that they need. - You'll get quite a few certifications here through our program. We have general construction one, two and three and in those classes you'll get different certifications. So, you'll get an OSHA certification. You get your flagger certification. You'll get a forklift certification. You will also get a scissor lift, aerial boom certification. You'll also come here and you'll know that we teach 'em how to pour concrete. So we do have a concrete class. They will learn how to calculate how much volume of concrete's needed. So they go through a whole array of the concrete class. We also do a grade checking class. Yeah, we do a lot of grade checking with the GPS and global positioning systems. And then, they also do a pipe class where we're teaching them how to cut pipe, put pipe together and work in the trenches. Deal with compaction of rock and everything like that. We have to learn how to do math because we have to be able to convert from decimals to the inches and everything like that and you learn that as you go. - I think people that have never considered construction as a trade should really look into it. Go to an organization like Oregon Tradeswomen or some pre-apprenticeship program that can give you a look into what the industry offers or come to our training facility and say, "Hey, what are you guys about." Because, you don't want to pass up an amazing career opportunity that is here for you to look at and it's so available to everybody. - And it gives you a lot of pride. The other thing is if you need to do something around the house, you can pretty much do it yourself, you don't have to call anybody. (laughs) And you have a lot of friends in the trade you know, if you ever need help you can barter each way. It's a very good feeling to have. A family oriented with everyone. I mean, we call everyone brother, we call everyone sister and that's just the way we are. We're very much a proud American trade, that's what we do.