Jumpstart

The Jumpstart Pre-Apprenticeship Program provides low-income community residents sponsored by specific employers with an 87-hour, pre-apprenticeship course for electricians, plumbers, and carpenters.

The Job Opportunities Task Force partners with Associated Builders and Contractors, Goodwill Industries, Baltimore City Community College, and Skills Force Leasing Company to deliver a comprehensive program, including both training and work experience, to enable residents to begin a career in one of three industry trades and advance into a journeyman position through subsequent participation in a four-year apprenticeship program. Jumpstart has graduated close to 70 individuals to date, and it has placed more 73 percent of its graduates in the industry, with average wages of $10 to $12 an hour (a 33 to 57 percent increase in wages since entering the program).

The Jobs Opportunities Task Force convenes key partners in construction and economic development fields for sectoral planning, analyzes the skills and competencies needed by construction employers in the sector, and facilitates the development of new supportive curricula and program designs by service providers to enable Baltimore residents to enter the construction trades.