Port Covington Manufacturing Bootcamp Celebrates One Year with Graduation of Third, Fourth Participant Classes
Baltimore, Md. – The Port Covington Development Team and community leaders celebrated a successful first year of the Port Covington Manufacturing Bootcamp with a ceremony honoring the program’s third and fourth participant classes, on Tuesday, February 20, at The Foundery. Launched in late 2016, the Port Covington Manufacturing Bootcamp is a first-of-its-kind workforce development pre-apprenticeship program. It was created to teach Baltimore-area residents a broad range of skills and offer exposure to building trades, with the goal of better equipping participants to explore job opportunities and careers in manufacturing.
Joined by community leaders and participating local businesses at The Foundery on Tuesday, The Port Covington Development Team celebrated the graduation of nine participants from the third and fourth Bootcamp classes. Four participants in the third class completed the Bootcamp on July 31, 2017. Five participants in the fourth class completed the Bootcamp on December 22, 2017.
Participants in the third and fourth Bootcamp classes were provided the opportunity at Tuesday’s event to visit with potential employers. In all, 33 participants have completed the Port Covington Manufacturing Bootcamp. Of the 33 participants in the Bootcamp classes, 28 have been placed in jobs to date.
“Over the course of one year, the Port Covington Manufacturing Bootcamp has evolved into a program that is affecting true positive change in our community,” said Alicia Wilson, SVP of Impact Investments and Sr. Legal Counsel for the Port Covington Development Team. “The Port Covington Development Team is proud to partner with the Center for Urban Families and The Foundery to help equip such strong participants with the right skills for a bright future.”
The Port Covington Manufacturing Bootcamp is one of many programs sponsored by Port Covington Development Team to ensure that the economic success of Port Covington is shared by Baltimore’s residents and workers.
The six-week course is led by The Foundery and the Center for Urban Families (CFUF) and sponsored by the Henry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Plank Industries, Whiting-Turner, and The Commercial Group.
The program requires participants to take classes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., five days a week. Participants spend Monday at CFUF getting training in math, financial literacy and earning First Aid/CPR and OSHA 10 Certifications. Tuesdays through Fridays are spent at The Foundery, located at City Garage in Port Covington. Classes at The Foundery focus on a wide variety of skills, including woodworking, welding, CNC (computer numerically controlled) machinery, textiles, 3D printing, and more.
In the final week of the Port Covington Manufacturing Bootcamp, participants choose a specialized manufacturing skill to learn in order to complete a final project. A ceremony like Tuesday’s is held at the conclusion of each program for family, friends and local employers. Following the ceremony, participants are provided the opportunity to display their final projects, meet local employers and discuss potential employment.
“Port Covington manufacturing Boot Camp is a generous enabling program that is helping to build skill dignity in the lives of its students. Here at Md. Washington Minority Companies Association (MWMCA), we see the value of philanthropic expressions such as this to lift individuals, who in turn uplift their families”, said Wayne R. Frazier, Sr., President of MWMCA. “God Bless America.”
