BUILDING FUTURES

BUILDING FUTURES -BUILDING FUTURES' MISSION IS ACHIEVED THROUGH PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING AND SOCIAL SERVICE SUPPORTS FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING POVERTY WHO SEEK CAREERS IN THE BUILDING TRADES THROUGH REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP; STRATEGIES TO INCREASE EMPLOYER DEMAND FOR APPRENTICES ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS; AS WELL AS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO NON-CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYERS WHO WISH TO DEVELOP, LAUNCH, AND OPERATE REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAMS IN OTHER HIGH-GROWTH SECTORS.BUILDING FUTURES' COMPREHENSIVE, NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAM (BF200) PREPARES ADULTS FOR EMPLOYMENT IN ONE OF MANY BUILDING TRADE APPRENTICESHIPS, INCLUDING ELECTRICIANS, CARPENTERS, PLUMBERS, IRONWORKERS, PAINTERS, AND LABORERS, AMONG OTHERS. THIS 200-HOUR HANDS-ON PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING FOCUSES ON BASIC COMPETENCIES NEEDED ACROSS ALL CONSTRUCTION TRADES. WHILE ENROLLED FULL-TIME, PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE A TRAINING ALLOWANCE TO ENSURE RETENTION AND SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM COMPLETION. GRADUATES EARN MULTIPLE INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CERTIFICATIONS THAT HELP ENSURE ENTRY INTO THEIR CHOSEN TRADE. ALL GRADUATES RECEIVE ASSISTANCE WHILE CHOOSING A TRADE OCCUPATION AND PREPARING FOR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM INTERVIEWS AND ENTRANCE EXAMS, AS WELL AS SUPPORT SERVICES DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR OF APPRENTICESHIP AND BEYOND.BUILDING FUTURES REMAINS THE ONLY STATE-REGISTERED CONSTRUCTION PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM IN RHODE ISLAND. DIRECT ENTRY AGREEMENTS WITH THE RI BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL UNIONS ALLOW FOR PRIORITY ENTRANCE FOR OUR PROGRAM GRADUATES INTO THEIR PREFERRED TRADE. TO DATE, 607 PARTICIPANTS HAVE GRADUATED FROM BF200 PRE-APPRENTICESHIP, INCLUDING 58 IN FY25. IN FY25, WE OPERATED FOUR CYCLES OF BF200 IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO GROWING DEMAND FOR TRAINING.ELECTIVE TRAININGS SUPPLEMENT BF200 PRE-APPRENTICESHIP, FURTHER PREPARING GRADUATES FOR SUCCESS IN EMPLOYMENT. THE GRADUATE SERVICE LEARNING ("GSL") ELECTIVE ALLOWS GRADUATES TO PARTICIPATE IN A RANGE OF HANDS-ON, COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS. IN FY25, TRAINEES CONSTRUCTED A VULTURE HABITAT AT ROGER WILLIAMS PARK ZOO, AS WELL AS FIVE UTILITY SHEDS THAT WERE DISTRIBUTED TO SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, THE HMONG COMMUNITY FARM IN CRANSTON, THE CHARLES STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN, AND OUR OWN TREE NURSERY.OUR CERTIFIED WELDING ELECTIVE TRAINING, HELD THREE TIMES PER YEAR, IS A THREE-WEEK COURSE IN INDUSTRIAL WELDING TAUGHT BY AN AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY-CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR. THESE ELECTIVES AUGMENT THE CORE PRE-APPRENTICESHIP IN PREPARING GRADUATES FOR ENTRY AND SUCCESS IN REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS. IN FY25, 46 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN GSL, AND ANOTHER 18 COMPLETED WELDING CERTIFICATION TRAINING.AS OF THE END OF FY25, 476 PRE-APPRENTICESHIP GRADUATES HAVE ENTERED EMPLOYMENT, INCLUDING 459 WHO ENTERED CONSTRUCTION THROUGH REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. THIRTY-NINE GRADUATES ENTERED CONSTRUCTION REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS IN FY25 ALONE. OVER 90% OF BF200 GRADUATES ARE RETAINED IN THEIR APPRENTICESHIP AFTER ONE YEAR, AND 81% COMPLETE THEIR THREE-TO-FIVE-YEAR APPRENTICESHIPS. WITH EMPLOYER AND TRADE PARTNERS, BUILDING FUTURES CONTINUES TO REFINE AND EXPAND ITS PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM AND HAS BEEN NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR ITS BEST PRACTICES BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND OTHERS.RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, PLACEMENT, AND RETENTION OF WOMEN IN THE TRADES IS PART OF BUILDING FUTURES' ONGOING EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE DIVERSITY AND NUMBER OF QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR TRADE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. BUILDING FUTURES' ALUMNAE LEADERSHIP WORKING GROUP ASSISTS WITH OUTREACH AND RECRUITMENT. BUILDING FUTURES SUPPORTS ITS ALUMNAE IN DEVELOPING THEIR LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND WORKING WITHIN THEIR UNIONS TO SUPPORT WOMEN'S RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION EFFORTS, INCLUDING PARTICIPATION IN THE ANNUAL NORTH AMERICA'S BUILDING TRADES UNIONS CONFERENCE, TRADESWOMEN BUILD NATIONS. BUILDING FUTURES SPONSORED 13 GRADUATES WHO TRAVELED TO NEW ORLEANS FOR THE FALL 2024 TRADESWOMEN BUILD NATIONS CONFERENCE.IN FY24, BUILDING FUTURES PILOTED A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLASS TAILORED FOR BF200 GRADUATES WHO HAVE ADVANCED IN THEIR TRADE AND ARE SEEKING TO BEGIN THEIR OWN BUSINESSES AS CONTRACTORS. BUILDING FUTURES ENGAGED A CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS LEADER TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTION AND COUNSELING SERVICES FOR GRADUATES. THE PROGRAM'S INTENSIVE CURRICULUM COVERS BUSINESS REGISTRATION, BASIC OPERATIONS, REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO BECOME A CONTRACTOR, MANAGING CASH FLOW, AND RAISING CAPITAL FOR A GROWING CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS.EXPERT PRESENTERS AND COACHES OFFER INSIGHTS FROM THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE AND ENCOURAGE DISCUSSION AND CRITICAL THINKING. IN FY24, NINE BUILDING FUTURES GRADUATES AND SEVERAL OF THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS COMPLETED THE PROGRAM, AND MANY WENT ON TO PURSUE MBE/WBE CERTIFICATION. IN FY25, BUILDING FUTURES WORKED TO DEVELOP THE PILOT MATERIALS INTO A FORMAL SYLLABUS, CURRICULUM, AND LESSON PLANS, WHILE OUR INSTRUCTOR CONTINUED COACHING GRADUATES. WE ARE NOW READY TO LAUNCH THE SECOND ITERATION OF THE PROGRAM.BUILDING FUTURES IS THE STATEWIDE MULTI-CRAFT CORE CURRICULUM (MC3) INTERMEDIARY FOR THE RHODE ISLAND BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL. MC3 IS A NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP READINESS CURRICULUM DEVELOPED BY NORTH AMERICA'S BUILDING TRADES UNIONS AND TRADESFUTURES. THIS CURRICULUM OFFERS AN INDUSTRY CREDENTIAL AND EXPOSURE TO BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADE OPTIONS THAT BEGIN WITH REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP. ALL BUILDING FUTURES PRE-APPRENTICESHIP AND BUILDING FUTURES INSIDE APPRENTICESHIP READINESS PARTICIPANTS EARN THE MC3 ALONG WITH OTHER CREDENTIALS. BUILDING FUTURES ALSO ADMINISTERS MC3 WITH PARTNER HIGH SCHOOLS AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RI. IN FY25, 28 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM PROVIDENCE CAREER AND TECHNICAL ACADEMY AND 30 CCRI STUDENTS EARNED MC3 CERTIFICATION. TWO PCTA GRADUATES AND ONE CCRI STUDENT WHO EARNED MC3 ENTERED REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP. TO DATE, 189 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE EARNED THE CERTIFICATION, WITH 43 ENTERING REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS.BUILDING GREEN FUTURES (BGF) PREPARES YOUNG ADULTS, AGES 1824, FOR FULFILLING CAREER PATHWAYS, INCLUDING PRIORITY PLACEMENT IN BUILDING FUTURES' RIGOROUS BF200 CONSTRUCTION PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING AND SUBSEQUENT ENTRY IN REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS. THE PROGRAM UTILIZES THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AS ITS TRAINING GROUND, FOCUSING ON PHYSICAL CONDITIONING AND STAMINA, AND RUDIMENTARY KNOWLEDGE OF CONSTRUCTION SKILLS, AS WELL AS OVERALL CAREER READINESS. IN FY25, 22 PARTICIPANTS GRADUATED FROM BGF. TO DATE, 83 YOUNG ADULTS HAVE GAINED WORK READINESS SKILLS WHILE PARTICIPATING IN CLIMATE MITIGATION PROJECTS, INCLUDING PLANTING OVER 500 TREES IN THE PROVIDENCE METRO AREA AND WORKING ON STORMWATER RETENTION INFRASTRUCTURE AND SITE MAINTENANCE WITH LOCAL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS. THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER WATERSHED COUNCIL (WRWC) AND NARRAGANSETT BAY COMMISSION, BGF PARTICIPANTS CONSTRUCTED A NEIGHBORHOOD URBAN TREE NURSERY IN 2024 TO HOUSE AND MANAGE UP TO 400 TREES FOR FUTURE COMMUNITY PLANTINGS. THIS URBAN TREE NURSERY NOW SERVES AS BGF'S OUTDOOR CLASSROOM.IN FY23, BUILDING FUTURES LAUNCHED BUILDING FUTURES INSIDE (BFI), A CONSTRUCTION APPRENTICESHIP READINESS AND RE-ENTRY PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUALS WITHIN RHODE ISLAND'S CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES ENGAGING CLASSROOM, HANDS-ON, AND THERAPEUTIC COMPONENTS TO PREPARE PARTICIPANTS TO TRANSITION TO THE BF200 PROGRAM UPON RELEASE. TO DATE, 31 INDIVIDUALS HAVE GRADUATED FROM BFI, 23 HAVE ADVANCED TO BF200, AND 17 HAVE BEEN PLACED IN A REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP WITH THE CARPENTERS, CEMENT MASONS, LABORERS, MILLWRIGHTS, AND PAINTERS UNIONS. IN FY25, BUILDING FUTURES PREPARED FOR PROGRAM LAUNCH IN MEDIUM SECURITY. HAVING OVERCOME UNEXPECTED DELAYS, EXPANSION TO MEDIUM SECURITY WILL BEGIN IN FY26, WITH A PLAN TO INCORPORATE MEDIUM SECURITY PROGRAMMING INTO THE YEARLY SCHEDULE FOR BFI, ENSURING THAT THE BENEFITS OF THIS TRAINING CAN REACH MORE ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES.