Kerwin Butler was trying to build something special: a fulfilling career. What he was doing just didn’t fly.
“Being a flight attendant got repetitive,” said Butler, a Jersey City native. “I felt like I didn’t have as much growth and I couldn’t utilize my imagination to the fullest. But being a carpenter, I can literally create whatever I put my mind to.”
Butler, along with fellow carpenter apprentices Darius Gwyn and Brian Brown, are celebrating their signing day. They didn’t commit to a sports program, but rather a career in union carpentry.
“I wish I had gotten into it a lot sooner,” said Gwyn, a Newark native.
Gwyn used to flip houses, and now he’s hoping to flip his career in the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local Union 253 Carpenters Apprenticeship Ready Program (C.A.R.P.). It’s a pre-apprenticeship created to enhance opportunities for underserved populations.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity for anyone who doesn’t want to do traditional college and I’m happy to be a part of it,” said Gwyn.
Students will spend their next 10 Saturdays at the Edison training facility as part of the journey into C.A.R.P., where they’ll learn and brush up on all the skills they need to know and get their feet wet for a career that could last them the rest of their life.
Source : PIX