Employment | Success | News & Community

From Migrant Worker to Welder

In 1968, Mr. Jesus Meza came to the U.S. from Mexico. He did not receive an education in Mexico, so like many, he worked in the fields, picking lettuce in Salinas, CA. After CET training, he is now a certified Flux Core welder, and is employed fulltime as a spot welder.

In 1980, Jesus and his family (wife and 4 children) decided to move to San Diego County, CA, where he started working at the Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas, CA. His job included planting, cutting and caring for poinsettia plants. Jesus worked this same job for 21 years!

During the winter of 2001, Jesus was laid-off and made the courageous decision to start training in the Welding Fabrication class at the CET San Diego center

It was not easy for Jesus, because he did not know how to write or read in Spanish nor English; but Jesus was determined and a proven hard worker. Through his job skills training, which incorporates the CET contextual method, Jesus successfully completed the Welding Fabrication training.

Dora Mendivil, CET San Diego's Center Director was pleased with this particular student, and exclaimed, "Jesus completed his training and proved that there are no obstacles when you work hard to achieve your goal."

Jesus became a certified Flux Core welder and is employed at RON BAKER CHEVROLET in National City as a spot welder. He enjoys his current work and said, "I thank CET San Diego for giving me an opportunity to learn a new skill and begin a new career".

The program works!

The Center for Employment Training has provided both job-training and placement services since 1967 to a variety of English and non-English speaking ethnicities with varying education levels, from ages 17 to 73 years old with unprecedented success.

The program works! In 2002, the training related placement rate for CET nationally was 85%. In fact, the collective effort of the National CET Network reflects a total placement exceeding 3,200 placements in the 2001 - 2002 program year.

In 1998, The Economic Development Quarterly reported, “CET has continually impressed even the most rigorous of employment-training and workforce-development program evaluators. Reports conducted by or for Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.; the Rockefeller Foundation; the Manpower Development Research Corporation (MDRC); the U.S. Economic Development Administration; and the government of Santa Clara County in California have, over a 20-year period, consistently shown CET to be highly successful – as well as cost-effective – in placing trainees with world-class companies, raising their earnings in comparison with randomly assigned control groups, and enhancing the reputation of the organization itself within the employer community.”

The CET San Diego center has been one of the leaders of the National CET Network, training and placing hundreds of people, year after year. In the future, this page will present individual success stories of the San Diego center.