Every morning at dawn, Felix catches a ride to work with a coworker, hops out of the pick-up truck, and gazes across the 20,000-acre expanse in front of him, in awe of the open land and sheer size of the solar panel farm in Buffalo, New York.
“It feels good to work at an eco-friendly company,” says Felix. “I never thought I’d be making an impact in the world.”
Felix graduated from the Upstate Union Pathways pre-apprenticeship, an advanced pathways program through the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) in Buffalo, and is now working for the local carpenters’ union.
The journey from unemployment to the union halls hasn’t always been easy, but Felix credits his success to his determination, his job coach, and his family, who always supported him—even when things got bleak.
A loyal New Yorker, Felix was raised to have a great work ethic and always to work hard. So when he was 35 and his employer was relocating to Texas, Felix, who was on probation for a minor offense, asked his probation officer if he could move to keep his job. He was denied.
“I was broke and couldn’t find another job fast enough,” says Felix. “At the time, I had a car, an apartment with my girl, and I was enrolled in college. I needed money, so I went back to what I knew how to do and hustled.”
This proved to be disastrous. It wasn’t long until Felix was arrested, and he lost everything.
“When I was inside, I promised myself that I was done making bad choices, and I wanted to start a real career when I got out,” Felix says. “But since I had no skills, it was hard to imagine getting there.”
This past year, Felix came home with fire in his eyes, looking for any opportunity to thrive and build a career. After being referred to CEO of Buffalo, he started on a transition work crew that assisted the Department of Transportation in beautifying the city.
It was at CEO that Felix learned about the pre-apprenticeship program.
“I applied to the program with my job coach and was accepted,” Felix says. “CEO had already paid for me to get OSHA certified, then they made sure I didn’t need anything while I was in the eight-week classroom part of the pre-apprenticeship. I had a safety net while I did the work.”
Following the school course, students were trained in equipment, materials, safety, operations, and many other areas that could only be learned hands-on. They were given scenarios to choose what building system would be in place and what components would be used.
“The whole process was a learning experience, and it was hard. I don’t know if I would have been able to get through if it wasn't for CEO and my job coach," says Felix. “They kept me accountable, which I needed at times.”
The job coaches and developers build relationships with local fair chance companies to learn about job opportunities in real time. After the carpenter’s union reached out to Felix’s job coach, needing workers, he was hired full-time at the solar panel farm.
“I’ve gotten a lot of overtime in my first month,” says Felix. “I’ll be on this jobsite until 2027 and then somewhere else…this is the kind of long-term employment I needed. I wanted a career, and with help from CEO, I’m going to have one.”
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