The Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD) and community partners have launched the first registered apprenticeship for Facilities Maintenance Technicians in Massachusetts. The apprenticeship – which develops skills in both indoor and outdoor facilities maintenance – provides workers with pathways to college credit, as well as good pay, benefits, and career advancement with the program’s employer sponsor, property manager WinnResidential.
As part of their training, apprentices conduct coursework with Wentworth Institute of Technology. These classes are worth 8 college credits that can be applied toward a bachelor’s degree in Facilities Management if the apprentice chooses to continue their education. Apprentices also receive full benefits and earn starting wages of $16.50 per hour, which increase to $18.50 per hour by completion of the program.
Community-based organization YouthBuild Boston is coordinating program activities and helping to recruit young people for the apprenticeship. Che, a Mattapan resident, is one of those recruits. Before discovering the program through YouthBuild Boston, he had worked a number of odd construction jobs for family members and was unable to land a more stable position.
“I have been trying to get in jobs like this for a while,” he said. “But I didn’t have enough experience. I was getting overlooked.”
Che said he was looking forward to multiple benefits of his new apprenticeship: the ability to work with his hands, continuous year-round work with an established employer, steady income, opportunities for career advancement and higher education, and exposure to a wide variety of skillsets – ranging from HVAC to carpentry to electrical – which he hopes to share with his 14-year-old son.
“The possibilities are on me and how far I want to take it,” Che said. “That’s why I’m excited.”
Read the BPDA press release to learn more about the new Facilities Maintenance Technician apprenticeship.