By Tuseda A. Graggs

Nearly two dozen students of the Richmond BUILD program celebrated their graduation last week.

    The graduates were part of the Richmond-based pre-apprenticeship, construction skills and solar technology training program’s largest graduating class ever, with 23 graduating members. An additional 14 graduates of the East Bay Craft’s program also participated in the ceremony.
    The 10-week program enrolls candidates who are at least 18 years old and teaches them indispensable hands-on skills, power tool use, framing, wiring, welding, construction math, CPR/first aid and solar technology and installation.
    The Nov. 21 graduation was the program’s seventh graduation in its three-year history. The classes and the instructors are strict, but the graduates who persevere are rewarded with valuable jobs and life skills.
   “When they came into the program they were men and women,” said Fred Lucero, Richmond BUILD’s project manager. “But here we redefined for them what a responsible person is.”
    Even in these tough economic circumstances many of the graduates have already landed jobs, and some graduates were unable to attend the ceremony because they were working. It is a testament to the program’s success.
   “The program and the teachers here are a gift. And, if (the students) pick up that gift and use it properly they will have a successful career in the building trades,” said Lucero.
    The program’s success is demonstrated by the high demand for graduates, said Sal Vaca, director of Richmond’s Employment and Training Department. More than 30 Richmond BUILD graduates have already landed green jobs, and there is a lengthy list of candidates applying for a spot in the next program session, which begins in January, he said.
    And, he sees many of the graduates progressing from entry-level jobs to managers, to master installers and entrepreneurs.
   “These are not just entry-level jobs,” he said. “(They are) entrylevel jobs with a career ladder.”
    The high-quality training that graduates obtain stays with them, said Richmond City Manager Bill Lindsay.
   “Times may be tough over the next couple years, but you’re going to have the skills,” he said. “You will have your certificate, but you will also have that orange shirt. That orange shirt is going to be a part of you. When they see that orange shirt they know that the job is going to be a quality job because of the training behind that orange shirt.”
    Kapris James, 23, graduated on Friday and began a new union job with a construction company on Monday.
   “I thought this was going to be hard. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to deal with any heavy lifting,” she said.
    During the training James overcame her fear of heights and after a while was able to walk on rooftops without fear. She quickly became the leader of a five-person crew, which also taught her management skills.