Newark Essex Construction Careers Consortium (N/ECCC)

• Introduction
• Results
• Components of Success
• Our Partners
  
  

 Introduction  Launched in 2001, N/ECCC is a collaboration between the Institute, the public school districts, the Essex County Building Trades Council, and community based organizations designed to ensure that local urban residents benefit from massive public expenditures on school construction and other infrastructure. The N/ECCC prepares graduates for apprenticeships in one of Essex County's 17 building trades unions with up to 10 weeks of intensive and highly targeted academic preparation in math, reading and critical thinking; introduction to the building trades; and workplace and life skills training. N/ECCC participants are low-income men and women of color who reside in the greater Newark area, more than half of whom had previously been unemployed. Over 12% have spent time in prison.

As of 2009, program accomplishments include:

• Placed over 400 graduates in 17 different trades and over 40 others in employment with independent contractors. More than 30 graduates have moved beyond the apprenticeship level to become union journeymen.
• Developed various efforts to assist program participants in purchasing automobiles, and obtaining or restoring their driver's license, a requirement for entry into the building trades.
• Contributed to development of larger scale apprenticeship program modeled similarly to N/ECCC and funded by the New Jersey Department of Labor and the New Jersey School Construction Corporation.

Upon graduation, N/ECCC participants enjoy ongoing benefits and privileges, including access to an online database of job listings.

Click here for the apprenticeship application

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Results

What does an additional $8,000/year mean? If you are low-income, it makes all the difference in the world -- it means the ability to purchase a home in Newark rather than rent and it means the ability to buy computers for your children; when $8,000 is combined with family health benefits, it means that regular, preventative doctor visits can replace emergency room visits for health care services. And, when income and benefits are combined with a career in the construction trades -- it means the opportunity to plan for the future over the long term. To read the full report, click here.

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Components of Success

What makes the program successful is the strong partnership with the Essex County Building and Construction Trades Council and high quality program content delivered through the Essex County Vocational and Technical Schools. In addition, the Newark Public Schools and a diverse array of community stakeholders provide services and support to the men and women in the program. In Newark, where thirty-five percent of working high school graduates are either unemployed or out of the labor force entirely, N/ECCC has helped over 300 local residents acquire the skills they need to open a career path in a growing industry sector and to take the steps that lead from poverty to self sufficiency.

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Our partners

• AIR CONDITIONING & REFRIGERATION UA LOCALS # 9
• BOILERMAKERS LOCAL #28
• BRICKLAYERS LOCAL #4
• CARPENTERS LOCAL #1342
• DOCK BUILDERS LOCAL 1456
• ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL #164
• ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTION LOCAL #1
• INSULATORS LOCAL 32
• IRON WORKERS LOCAL #11
• LABORERS LOCALS 472 & 1153
• OPERATING ENGINEERS LOCAL #825
• PAINTERS GLAZERS FINISHERS DISTRICT COUNCIL 711
• PLUMBERS LOCAL 24
• ROOFERS LOCAL 4
• SHEET METAL WORKERS LOCAL 25
• SHEET METAL WORKERS LOCAL137
• SPRINKLER FITTERS LOCAL 696
• STEAM FITTERS/ PIPEFITTERS LOCAL 475
• TILE SETTERS LOCAL 7

Click here for an early evaluation of N/ECCC.

For more information about the program contact: Albert Williams, Project Director.

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