| A Unique Approach To Improving Employment
Opportunities
Nancy Gangi
The Center for Employment Training (CET) located in the southeast
area of San Diego County is doing a great job of giving low-income
Hispanics a chance to upgrade their lifestyles and get into better
paying jobs. This is accomplished through learning a variety of
in-demand job skills in several areas, including the construction
trades. Though the programs offered by CET aren’t targeted
to Latinos, a majority of the program participants are from that
community. Ninety-five percent of CET’s training program participants
are Hispanic and there is an 88% rate of successful completion.
This is a very high rate of success considering the skill level
of many of the students who enrolled in the program.
The training programs that CET offers are not solely attracting
male participants. In fact of the 249 students served from July
2001 to the present, 84 are women. Ninety-nine percent of the women
enrolled are from the Latino community. Eighty-nine percent of these
women were high school dropouts when they enrolled. This program
is ideal for assisting low-income females who haven’t finished
high school and often start out on the welfare rolls. With the help
of CET many young women end up in jobs with an average annual starting
salary of $18,527, with some as high as $19,248.
There is a dramatic increase in wages as a result of participation
in these programs. The average annual increase in pay for the women
is $13,540 in as little as 30 weeks for the Building Maintenance
Course. “The success rate for females who were high school
dropouts at enrollment is 48%,” according to Dora Mendivil,
CET San Diego's Executive Director. “It is very rewarding
to know that we are making such a difference in the lives of these
men and women and their families in our community.” Dora admits
it is great watching the self esteem and confidence level of the
women enrolled in the skill trades change over the course of their
training, as they become more proficient in areas they never dreamed
they’d be able to achieve. Ninety-eight percent of the women
came into CET’s programs unemployed and about half are single
with dependent children at home.
The skilled jobs in which they are trained are attractive because
they offer entry-level wages between $8 and $9 per hour, and a career
ladder with pay between $16 and $18 per hour. Mendivil indicated
that part of the reason the programs they offer are so effective
for the Latino population is that 94% of the women and 84% of the
men have limited English proficiency. To accommodate this population
all CET’s courses are taught in both English and Spanish.
Some of the occupations available to participants after completing
the Building Maintenance Course are:
• Plumbing Assembler-Installer,
• Electrician
• Carpenter
• Repairman/woman
• Carpenter (Construction)
• Maintenance Repairer (Building)
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