Business

DOES Helps High School Students and Adults Find Apprenticeships

THE AFRO — Started in 2017, the Apprenticeship D.C. initiative was designed to offer viable alternative career pathways to traditional four-year colleges. An apprenticeship can run from one to five years depending on the occupation. After completion of the apprenticeship program, graduates receive a nationally recognized completion certificate.

Published

7 years ago

May 22, 2019

Oakland Post

By George Kevin Jordan

The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services celebrated the transition of six high school students and several adult candidates into apprenticeship programs last week at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), 900 7th Street N.W., in honor of National College Signing Day.

Started in 2017, the Apprenticeship D.C. initiative was designed to offer viable alternative career pathways to traditional four-year colleges. An apprenticeship can run from one to five years depending on the occupation. After completion of the apprenticeship program, graduates receive a nationally recognized completion certificate.

The high school students will enroll in the agency’s Career Bridge Pre-Apprenticeship program and, upon completion of the pre-apprenticeship program, will transition into registered apprenticeships.

“We really got this idea from our former first lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative,” said Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes Director, D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES). “We said ‘why not arm the young people who made a conscious choice to do something positive in their life even if it means not going to a traditional college.’”

“So it feels amazing to have young people who are highlighted in a positive way that are making a conscious choice about themselves and have a plan for their life.”

Dr. Morris-Hughes said the short term goal is to “get as many people (as possible) who are interested in an apprenticeship.”

“Some people think that apprenticeship is just construction. But it isn’t. It’s financial services, information technology. So we want young people to be informed that they have a choice about their future.”

Dr. Morris-Hughes said the long term goals is to bring the program up to scale by adding more apprenticeships in different fields.

Stephen Courtien, D.C. Director of Baltimore-DC Building Trades said, since working with this program, they have placed about 42 people over the last year or so into apprenticeship programs. The organization operates 18 training centers throughout the Distrivt.

“Construction is key to everything,” Courtien said. “Being able to build stuff you see what’s happening with our infrastructure there’s going to be bigger spends on all of this in the near future and there’s a lack of skilled construction workers.”

Courtien said the partnership with D.C. is helping to introduce younger people to the trades, which offers a wide range of career options, and doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have an option of going to school as well.

“When you graduate your apprenticeship you can get your associate’s degree and most of the unions will help pay for you to get it. So it doesn’t limit you it actually opens up a lot of things.”

Knowing early on she didn’t want to attend a traditional college, but still wanting to become an engineer, Zyana Watts, an 18-year-old senior at Frank W. Ballou Senior High School, confided in her guidance counselor, who referred her to the apprenticeship program.

She now feels excited about the choice, and said, “I’m a girl, at the end of the day, in a male field, so I feel like I accomplished something.”

Lawrence Thompson, 22, said “It’s an honor. I take it as a blessing that they gave me this choice and I choose to run with it. Now I can advance to a career instead of just looking for a job. I see myself being a master bricklayer.”

Thomspon said he was thinking about college but added, “College wasn’t for me, mainly because of the cost, I didn’t have the money for it.”

According to the DOES there are over 800 nationally recognized trades. Just some of the ongoing apprenticeship programs in D.C. include, Auto Mechanic, Bricklayer, Cement Mason, Electrician, Iron Worker, Operating Engineer, Steam Fitter (HVAC), as well as Information Technology and Construction.

For more information about the program please go to www.does.dc.gov.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

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1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.