Where the skilled trades are for everyone
BY NICOLE NEEDLES
What started as a mission to find a career for her teenage son Dhillon turned into Naina Narayana Chernoff creating opportunities for a whole population of people. Chernoff considered helping Dhillon, who has autism, open a coffee kiosk after he graduated from school. She rethought those plans when the retail and hospitality industries laid off so many workers during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. After researching other sustainable options, one field continued to catch Chernoff’s eye: the skilled trades. Many don’t realize what lucrative careers can come from learning a craft and getting involved with the construction industry, so Chernoff decided to spread the word. Thus, the Inclusive Pathways to Success (IPS) trade school was born in northern Virginia.
The organization is a nonprofit trade school for young adults with documented differing learning capabilities such as ADHD, autism and learning disabilities as well as an interest in skilled trades. Chernoff created IPS to give these students the environment they need to thrive and empower them to learn hard and soft skills that they can take with them into employment. The instructors and administrative staff of the program are committed to creating a pipeline for students from classroom to career in Virginia and the greater Washington, D.C. area. IPS is working to break down barriers and biases surrounding these students. That’s why they use the very specific language of “differing abilities,” to disprove the notion that their students are any less capable than those at a traditional trade school.
“They are highly employable individuals who don’t always have employment success, because of the lack of customized training opportunities available for them. And I saw an opportunity with the skilled trades,” said Chernoff, founder and CEO of IPS.
Another key element, she said, of IPS is not only the one-on-one classroom support the students get – the smaller class sizes give the students individualized support – but also the support after program completion. This includes teaching them about soft skills, advocating for themselves, managing finances, sexual harassment in the workplace, working with a team and more. IPS will connect them with an employer for a smooth transition into the workplace after this huge accomplishment. The program not only prepares the student but the company that is hiring them. After spending the duration of this program with the student, the IPS team can make sure the employer is well-informed on the student’s abilities and any other pertinent information. If needed, the program will provide the student’s new team with sensitivity training. To top it all off, the monthly Alumni Program will bring back the students regularly to the program to check in on how everything is going.
The program has already impacted lives in a positive way. Perhaps those who get to see this impact firsthand are the instructors. Max Hochberg is one of these fortunate instructors. He has a background in carpentry and has a history of volunteering with his mother’s program, who is a special education teacher.
“My favorite part of the program is when we finish our projects. We go back and review all the steps and materials that it took to complete the project,” Hochberg said. “The students find empowerment in seeing what they were able to accomplish through their hard work.”
One important thing Hochberg wants everyone to note is that even though the term “adaptation” is used surrounding the program, it can sound as if the material is altered or diluted.
“This is not the case. The tolerance by which we judge woodworking projects does not change. The changes are the methods and tools we use to meet these tolerances. A lot of tools commonly used in woodworking and carpentry are already what we consider ‘adaptive tools.’ A drill press is an adaptive hand drill because it is guided. A digital caliper is an adaptive measuring tool due to the ease of reading the display. We don’t shy away from these tools, we embrace them to complete our tasks more effectively,” he said.
He hopes that IPS keeps growing and creating opportunities for people. Carpentry and woodworking are the first two trade programs IPS will offer starting this fall, but it will grow into more crafts and more chances to learn new things in the future. He also hopes that the program can continue to build a strong network of employers and supporters. One thing these supporters and AGC members should know, Hochberg said, is that these students absolutely have what it takes to work in the skilled trades. With the specialized training and life skills learned in the program, any student can succeed in the field.
How can AGC members help? There are several ways that Chernoff points out. Simply reaching out to her or the school to form a relationship is a great first step. Different organizations have different ways that they can assist and help this program grow. For example, IPS wants to form relationships with AGC members to discuss its students’ abilities and the jobs they can fill at their companies. Additionally, the program is seeking employer partners that would be willing to host the students for advanced training opportunities, networking and job shadowing opportunities. These relationships will help demonstrate the abilities and value of the students to partner organizations. Another great way to help, of course, is for AGC members to hire these students upon completion of the program. This is not only beneficial for IPS and its students, but also for organizations that are getting direct access to a valuable pool of highly skilled individuals.
“We want to bring on employer partners who are interested in diversifying their workforce, and including our future graduates, because they make wonderful employees. IPS is giving students the training that will help them succeed at their jobs. I’m not generalizing when I say that if you’re offering an opportunity to someone who has never been able to find employment, you’re not only changing their life, but you’re changing their family’s life. Because for every individual that comes to us, there are loved ones behind them who worry that their son or daughter is not going to find employment success.”
Even if employers aren’t in Virginia or the Washington D.C. area, Chernoff hopes that IPS will plant a seed of openmindedness to hire individuals who have differing abilities. IPS is also seeking assistance through corporate sponsorships. Since IPS is a 501(c)(3), any outside help is crucial. The program’s building as well as thousands of dollars worth of equipment was generously donated by an industry partner, Hensel Phelps, a member of multiple AGC chapters, and it’s help like this that changes lives.
IPS is currently in its pilot stage. They will launch the full 10-month program in August 2024. The program will provide students with OSHA10 certification and general carpentry training through curricula from the National Center for Construction Education and Research for carpentry training. Woodworking students will earn certifications in nationally recognized tool skill standards set by the Woodwork Career Alliance (WCA) of North America. IPS plans to launch more trade programs aside from woodworking and carpentry in the next three years. The organization’s goal is not necessarily to expand class sizes, however, since personalized attention is a huge asset to the learning journey of the students. What the IPS team would love to see, however, is more locations. That way the reach can expand, but that one-on-one time will not be lost.
“We get so bogged down in stats. Every employer has vacancies, and they want to fill them, but the real issue is training opportunities. If we had more training opportunities for people who want to enter the construction field that come from minority backgrounds such as women, people who are disabled, indigenous people and others, those stats will improve,” Chernoff said. “That is the key to uplifting people and economic mobility for all of us.”
While the main goal of the program is to empower students with differing abilities to use their skills, build new ones, and, ultimately, be hired, the secondary goal is to change ideologies. If the program can change even one mindset around hiring these individuals and giving them the same opportunities as everyone else, it will be a success. Diversity and inclusion efforts at many companies have increased in the past years, but it’s important to ensure these efforts are not performative and that there is a real desire to be a supportive and safe-space employer. Supporting efforts such as IPS is a great way to do this.