St. Paul Church of God in Christ Community Development Ministries, Inc (SPCDM), established in 1995, is a not for-profit community-based 501(c)(3). The Pre- Apprenticeship/Career Readiness Training Program was organized in May 2000 as part of the vision of the late Bishop Charles Mason Ford, a builder and a strong supporter of recognized labor/unions, and his son, Pastor Kevin Anthony Ford, to serve further and uplift humanity.
Recognized for its premier pre apprenticeship training program, SPCDM has an established history as a leader in preparing passionate and properly ready members of historically underrepresented communities for careers in the labor workforce. SPCDM provides classroom instruction, utilizing top local construction and union industry members, and test preparation for eventual entry into the various building trades unions. The structure and leadership SPCDM continually deliver to its students allow excellent union acceptance rates, top testing scores, and career placement. The graduates of this phenomenal program are repeatedly great additions to the workforce and the unions.
SPCDM has a documented history of training and preparing underserved communities to succeed in the construction labor workforce, including veterans, females, and recently incarcerated. The pre apprenticeship training program helps the individuals who graduate with retention and permits a mindset to change the graduate’s communities. Systematically underserved communities can observe firsthand the available opportunities. The career training and eventual job placement provide families with economic stability and viability with living wages, medical and dental benefits, a pension, and nationally recognized and portable credentials.
SPCDM has assisted in entering over 245 individuals into U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Programs. We provide economic opportunities for working men and women while increasing and expanding diversity within this industry.
SPCDM has the historic competence of understanding labor and cultural competency.
The facility houses all aspects of the program at 4550 S. Wabash Avenue in the Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard community. SPCDM’s building, described as a three-story training facility, sits on a beautifully landscaped campus with a sprawling backyard for outdoor exercises and a break bench area. A gated parking lot is also accessible. The facility is within excellent public transportation accessibility. The location is about .5 miles from the entry/exit of the Dan Ryan Expressway. CTA rail lines and several bus routes are a few blocks nearby.
SPCDM’s free 12-week Pre Apprenticeship Training Program, opened to men and women, will introduce, and help transition eligible participants to a skilled trade apprenticeship. We utilize a curriculum aligned with and based on industry standards that offers math and reading remediation to maximize test results for entry into the construction building trades with aptitude test preps, financial literacy, resume writing, and interview skills. The participants are offered opportunities to network within the construction industry. All participants are provided case management services, including career support and retention, to address barriers that may impede starting a long career in the industry. Participants are provided with several necessary certifications, including OSHA 10, CPR/First Aid/AED, and North America’s Building Trades Union/TradesFuture MC3 certificate.
The geographic region covered is statewide to ensure Illinois residents have access to State capital projects and careers in the construction industry and building trades, including those historically underrepresented in those trades.
Partnership Agreements are in place with trade unions, contractors, and related industries committed to the appropriate success of this program by providing services and supports that include outreach, recruitment, counseling, employment bridge, ancillary training, hosting on-site visits, wraparound services, marketing, etc.
They are the building trades’ coordinators/trainers (carpenters, bricklayers, heat & frost insulators, tile setters, etc.), leading prominent contractors,
and family service organizations to assist with referred support and wraparound services for the program participants.
The anticipated goals of SPCDM are to continue to increase the opportunities for entry and retention of historically underserved populations within the skilled construction trades workforce. Our goal is to assist our community in unlocking access to economic stability into a career with high living wages, medical/dental benefits, a pension, and portable credentials. We are looking at the potential to help build generational wealth and narrow racial and gender wage gaps.
The communities’ support is needed in order to continue the success of this mission of uplifting our communities.
Success Story – Maurice Harris
Maurice Harris was born and raised in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. “When I was a kid, everything was okay. My dad worked at the post office and owned the building we lived in, and my mom was a stay-at-home mom. My dad passed away when I was 19, and things went south. During that time, I was destructive and struggled a lot.“
Maurice has done just that. After going through several different workforce training programs across the city, he eventually entered St. Paul Community Development’s pre-apprenticeship training program after receiving a flyer to attend their 2016 3rd Annual Construction EXPO.
Maurice Harris graduated from SPCDM’s pre-apprenticeship training program in 2017, and shortly afterward, he was placed into a USDOL Apprenticeship Program The Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 UA. He has obtained his journeyman status and is now certified, whereas he can work anywhere in the United States with this card-carrying member status.
Because Mr. Harris had retained his consistently successful apprenticeship status in the Local 130 Plumbers Union (with a pension and health benefits) and worked with the same employer for five years, he became a proud first-time homeowner with a backyard his children could play safely in. He became a Deacon at St. Paul Church of God in Christ and a Board Director on three church properties.
He was acknowledged and featured in the former President Barack Obama’s Instagram post on Labor Day, September 2021, with 394,387 “Likes” reviews.
The Instagram posting states:
Labor Day is about honoring folks like Maurice Harris a devoted husband and father of five who has spent his career working in the trades in Chicago. He credits the trades for providing him with the skills and opportunities he needed to support his family.
Maurice’s journey wasn’t easy. At 19, his father passed away, and he started heading down a path that eventually led him to joining a gang. After ten years, he decided to make some changes, getting his start in the trades through Chicago’s St. Paul Church of God in Christ Community Development Ministries, Inc.
Today, Maurice works as a journey-level plumber on sites across Chicago. And soon, hell be working on the Obama Presidential Center as a part of our Construction Workforce Initiative.
Maurice hopes to inspire young people by sharing his story. “Any young guy I can come to on the streets, on the trains, on street corners”, he said. “Whenever I see someone going the wrong way and doing things that won’t take them where they want to go in life, I”ll stop and talk to them about it and keep talking to them about it. I get on their nerves sometimes, but I don’t care. They need to hear it from someone who’s been in their position.”
This Labor Day, let’s honor all the working men and women like Maurice who make this country what it is and the American Labor movement that has protected them, especially during the pandemic.”
