Lennar is sponsoring programs to train a new generation of workers in skilled construction trades. These efforts have resulted in the placement of dozens of local works in good-paying jobs and apprenticeship programs.
These programs are just one part of how the revitalization of the Shipyard is making a positive and lasting difference in the lives of area residents.
The Lennar-sponsored program made all the difference for 56-year-old William Bennett, who had spent years trying to break into various engineering fields but kept being told he didn’t have the experience.
“I was just reaching for another goal,” Bennett said. “I figured it could only help. They had magnificent teachers. The whole mathematics class was geared toward practical aspects in the field and on the job.”
The teaching Bennett received through the apprenticeship program, which was sponsored as part of the redevelopment of Hunters Point Shipyard, helped him get a job with Rexmore Electrical.
“When I went to apply, they gave me a test,” Bennett said. “It was so elementary because the classes had taught me where to find the answers. I walked through that test with ease. They made me a decent offer. And I’ve been working with a lot of good people.”
Asked how Lennar’s training program had helped change his life, Bennett said, “The difference is I am a happy individual who’s not lost anymore. I’m grounded.”
