Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has launched the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program in partnership with Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Los Angeles Southwest College, and the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. The workforce development program will prepare local residents for skilled craft labor careers to support the $15 billion capital improvement program at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Contractors performing work on LAWA projects are expected to exceed 30 percent local participation with a workforce that reflects the diversity of Los Angeles.
“The HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness program is a first of its kind collaboration, providing the local community with specialized training, and connecting participants with the contractors who will hire them to be part of the construction teams modernizing LAX,” said Samson Mengistu, Chief Operating Officer for Los Angeles World Airports. “With the HireLAX program, we provide a new way for the local community to take a key role in the re-imagining of LAX, by linking workers to immediate and long-term skilled jobs, and making available the training they need to be successful.”
The 8-week program at Los Angeles Southwest College begins on September 11, 2017. Participants will receive free training to prepare them for entrance to union apprenticeships. It also includes comprehensive case management to help participants develop soft skills and overcome barriers to employment such as lack of high school diploma or GED, transportation, childcare, homelessness, involvement in the criminal justice system, or lack of access to construction tools and personal protective equipment. Under the HireLAX framework, program graduates will be connected with union apprenticeship programs and contractors to begin their construction careers at LAX.
“The Los Angeles Community College District is excited to partner with LAWA and the LA/OC Building and Construction Trades Council to expand career pathways for our students and residents of the LAX area and the City of Los Angeles,” said Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Board President, Los Angeles Community College District. “The HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program will prepare diverse participants for rewarding careers in the construction industry while helping to fill the region’s ongoing need for skilled labor.”
The program was developed within the framework of LAWA’s Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which is a partnership between LAWA, its contractors and the local construction unions. The PLA requires contractors and unions to refer local workers to the project, and outreach to persons who have not previously qualified to be employed on construction projects, especially minorities and women.
“The Council values its long-standing partnerships with LAWA and LACCD,” said Ron Miller, Executive Secretary of the LA/OC Building and Construction Trades Council. “The HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness program will prepare a diverse group of local community members for placement into union apprenticeships. After placement, they will continue to receive training both on-the-job and in the classroom, while earning prevailing wages and receiving health and retirement benefits.”
The LAWA Project Labor Agreement and the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program are managed by Pasadena-based Parsons Corporation. The non-profit Flintridge Center is providing recruitment and case management assistance for the program.
Persons interested in the mandatory program orientation and registration on August 19th should contact Christina Watkins at (424) 646‑7192 or [email protected] and visit http://lawa.org/welcome_lawa.aspx?id=2398 for more information. Individuals can register for the mandatory program orientation online at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hirelax-apprenticeship-readiness-program-arp-orientation-tickets-36320634997
