A new mentorship program launched July 29 by Pacific Resource Partnership (PRP) and the Hawai‘i Regional Council of Carpenters (HRCC) provides the skills and instruction budding carpenters need to achieve journey-level certification as they complete their apprenticeships in carpentry, drywall and millwright.

Mentorships connect journey-level carpenters with apprentices enrolled in the four-year Hawai‘i Carpenters Apprenticeship and Training Fund program. Mentors will counsel apprentices who have questions or need training advice, and will receive a monthly $100 stipend. Each mentor will support three to five apprentices, depending on need.

“Many young people are unaware that a career in the trades is not only an option, but actually allows them to thrive in Hawai‘i by earning good middle-class wages,” said HRCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Ron Taketa in a release. “The new mentorship program is designed to help young apprentices successfully complete their training as they work to graduate as journey-level carpenters where they can make six-figure salaries to support themselves and their families.”

Young and skilled trade workers are especially important in Hawai‘i, which has the sixth-oldest construction workforce in the nation.

“A dynamic community is driven by new and improved infrastructure, but the only way to accomplish this goal is to have a workforce that remains vibrant and available,” added PRP Interim Executive Director Kyle Chock in the release. “The mentorship program helps ensure our apprentices complete their training by receiving advice from a trusted journey-level carpenter, which ultimately benefits them financially and helps sustain Hawai‘i’s construction workforce for the foreseeable future.”

Those interested in becoming an apprentice through the Hawai‘i Carpenters Apprenticeship and Training Fund can find more information online at https://tinyurl.com/4duuy3uw.