At Sound Transit, one of our goals is to support and develop a workforce that is representative of the diversity of the region.
The agency designs construction contracts to include apprenticeship goals to ensure our projects support the development of underrepresented populations to earn a livable wage.
Toward that end the Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (PACT) and Apprenticeship & Nontraditional Employment for Women (ANEW) programs work to improve access and opportunities into careers for women, people of color and people from low-income areas.
Both pre-apprenticeship training programs support entry into the trades by providing the education and skills needed to perform the work. Upon graduation, participants have direct access or preferred entry to jobs.
Interested in the trades? Learn more about Sound Transit's Office of Labor Relations.
Katherine Fair and Cicelia Thompson journeyed from pre-apprenticeship to the trades, going on to work on the Lynnwood Link Extension (LLE) project.
The LLE project utilized a Project Labor Agreement across the project’s three contracts, L200, L300, and L800.
During the five-year construction timeline, LLE contractors were just shy of their goal of 20% of hours worked by apprentices by employing 1,544 apprentices who worked a total of 1,282,925 hours.
Of those apprenticeship hours, 20.1% were performed by women and 50.2% of the apprentice hours were performed by people of color.
We had a chance to hear directly from Katherine and Cicelia on their experiences:
What pre-apprenticeship program did you come from? What craft are you in and what is your position?
Katherine Fair: PACT in the Wood Technology Program at Seattle Central. I’m a laborer foreperson.
Cicelia Thompson: ANEW - Apprenticeship & Nontraditional Employment for Women. I’m a laborer apprentice.
What were you doing before you pursued the trades?
Katherine: I was a preschool teacher.
Cicelia: I was finishing high school. I graduated young and was trying to figure my life out, while working a couple jobs to try and make ends meet, then moved in with my aunt.
What got you interested in pursuing a career in the trades?
Katherine: I was working full time and had a part time job while trying to raise five kids and a grandbaby, and making ends meet. I went to the PACT program to check it out and ended up enrolling because I needed a better paying job. After the first quarter ended, the apprenticeship coordinator from Local 242 (previously Local 440) pulled me from the program, saying that I was ready to be in the field.
Cicelia: My aunt advised me to get into the trades.
What barriers have you faced getting into the trades; what barriers have you faced while in the trades?
Katherine: When getting into the trades, there was a racial barrier... I had to start standing up for myself. [Then] you face different challenges. I used to feel like I had to keep proving myself. I know my worth now. Many men in the trades don’t want you to know more than them so they won’t give you the opportunity to learn and grow. They don’t want you to outshine them. I’m dedicated to myself and my job if they need me to stay late, I do; my job is my ride or die. They noticed this and gave me the chance to be a foreman. They noticed that I as a woman could see more detail in the work, which makes a difference in the end. Because of this opportunity I now envision more for myself and my career.
Cicelia: Always having to prove myself even more; people expect more out of you because you’re a woman trying to compete with the men. Sometimes you’ll get a co-worker who will help you and help explain the task and other times people don’t give you the chance to learn the task, just because I’m a woman. They don’t know your strengths and don’t bother to ask, and they don’t listen to your advice or your ideas.
What opportunity has the pre-apprenticeship program given you that you wouldn’t have otherwise had?
Katherine: The pre-apprenticeship has given me so many opportunities to learn and experience. In the PACT program they taught me about different challenges and how to move forward. The only tool I knew how to use before was a hammer! But they built that confidence in me, and my life changed for the better!
Cicelia: The pre-apprenticeship program has given me the opportunity and ability to get ahead in life at a young age. ANEW helped me with perfecting my resume, obtaining my driver's license, providing me with resources to help remove barriers, and really helped me get prepared for the real world.
What advice would you give to others interested in the pre-apprenticeship program?
Katherine:
- Have perseverance, persistence, punctuality.
- Ask: Is this really what you want to do? It’s good money, but it’s hard work.
- Know that it can be fun; we work together, we stick together, we go home together.
- Know it’s not always easy. You’ll get cold and tired and will be sore.
- Understand that if you don’t want to work hard, this is not for you.
Cicelia:
- Do your research, find a trade that is most fitting for your lifestyle, think of the long run. Don’t do it because it sounds cool.
- Find a trade that could help you with life skills.
- Have a conversation with others on the jobsite, even from different trades and companies.
- Your name is your business card.
- Come to work every day like it’s your first day and be open to learning.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if [they] sound stupid.
- If you see something, say something — everyone wants to go home at the end of the day.
- Work as a team safely.
Sound Transit provides monetary support to community partners and local pre-apprenticeship programs to support community outreach, training, and barrier removal services. Learn more from the apprenticeship guidebook.