As we highlighted last month, SSW continues to hire women as craftworkers to the Project. One of those recent hires is Carpenter Apprentice Crystal Ramirez. She is currently working on Y-Bent #7, near the railroad tracks, in the knuckle region at the base of what will eventually become the arches of the new bridge. Crystal has been with the Project for two months now and worked on the football stadium in Inglewood before that.
She recently became a 6th Period Carpenter Apprentice, which means she is only a couple of steps away from achieving Journeyman status. As an apprentice, every three months or so, Crystal attends a week of classes to further advance her training. After two rounds of classes and continued work, she is able to advance another level in her apprenticeship program. She's currently on track to become a Journeyman next year.
Crystal grew up in Los Angeles, not far from the work site, and remembers riding her bike over the original Sixth Street Bridge as a kid. She's excited to be working in the heart of L.A. and being a part of building the city's history. In fact, she told us that she had been looking out for opportunities to join this project for some time.
Crystal met the Project's Job Coordinator, Veronica Manzo, a while back at the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters B.O.O.T.S. ("Bridging Opportunities with Tradeswoman Skills") program. The two kept in touch until eventually a position became available at the Project and Crystal was able to join. She explained that she prefers working on large-scale projects for companies with good reputations because she knows that she will learn a lot of new skills.
That's the attitude Crystal brings to work everyday and it's the advice she would give anyone interested in pursuing a career in construction: be prepared to learn. The amount of information you have to learn can be overwhelming, but Crystal encourages new workers to ask questions, try new skills, find good mentors and don't get discouraged by the work ahead. There's a lot to do, but like any builder will tell you: start with a solid foundation and take it one step at a time.
