The Olympia Career Hub began its short-term construction training cohorts in January 2023, through a partnership with ANEW. These free training cohorts were created to help people with limited experience in construction take the first steps to a long and self-sustaining career pathway in the trades.

ANEW is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1980 to provide pre-apprenticeship training programs to the Puget Sound region. ANEW’s instructors taught 9 construction training cohorts for the Olympia Career Hub, helping 85 students gain essential construction skills and graduate from the program. Those students earned over 250 industry recognized certifications in Flagging, Forklift Operation, and OSHA-10 Safety. Initially, the Olympia Career Hub offered ANEW’s seven-week PACE training cohort program. The Olympia Career Hub transitioned to ANEW’s four-week Construction Boot Camp program, to make this training opportunity accessible to more people.

In addition to hands on construction training, ANEW built connections with each student. They practiced soft skills, interview skills, goal setting, and professionalism so that each student would put their best foot forward. In every aspect of their training, ANEW emphasizes Persistence, Punctuality, Positive Attitude, and Work Ethic.

ANEW instructor Kyla explains, “My main duties are out in the shop, but I also help students establish important habits such as being on time and early, making sure that they are wearing all of their PPE, resume building, and help them get prepared for an interview with an employer. By teaching these things, I am helping these students become a candidate to be successful at whatever career they may choose to go into.”