Watts resident Jennifer Diaz was moving boxes into a luxury apartment in Downtown Los Angeles when she met a woman doing maintenance work. Curious to see another woman in a non-traditional role, she asked her how she got that job. The woman was a graduate of JVS SoCal’s ApartmentWorks eight-week training course which helps participants learn the technical and soft skills needed to become Certified Apartment Maintenance Technicians.
At the time, Jennifer was barely making ends meet working for a moving company, so she was eager to look into the program. She was delighted to learn that the course was free, but concerned that she didn’t have any tools for this new career.
JVS SoCal’s partnership with Harbor Freight Tools ensures that every ApartmentWorks trainee is equipped with the knowledge and literally the tools needed to be successful in their new career.
“Having a bag full of new tools is a great advantage” says Jeniffer, who completed the program in the spring of 2024. “If I want to get great at maintenance, I have to learn all about all the equipment and be job ready.”
“As we advance in the different modules, the students are provided the tools and how to use the them,” details program manager Denise Silva, “At the end of the course, students will have received close to $300 worth of donated tools.”
The partnership started after a conversation with one of JVS SoCal board members: Steve Hirsh. “He and I were talking in the back of the room after an ApartmentWorks program graduation,” remembers Randy Lapin, JVS SoCal’s Senior Vice President of Philanthropy “and I said: ‘wouldn’t it be great if we gave them a set of tools as the start their new careers?’ Steve said, ‘I got just the right partner for you.’”
Steve introduced Randy to Danny Corbin, the Executive Director of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program. After a few calls and meetings, the company was in with a $15,000-a-year contribution to purchase tools for every graduate.
“It’s important to give back to the community, treating everyone with respect and giving back, says Danny, “That is one of the reasons we want to continue our partnership with JVS SoCal and look ahead to possible new programs that focus on youth.”
As program manager, Denise welcomes this kind of partnership that supports participants beyond the span of the course. “We meet with past graduates to know what they need the most,” she says, “A lot of our students don’t have the basic tools. And now they do”
The benefits of sometimes spill into the community, like in the situation of program participant Claudia Mendoza who was the resident manager at a homeless shelter for women and children during her time in ApartmentWorks training. Claudia used her new tools to make maintenance repairs at the shelter. “We [students] very thankful for everything that they have donated to us because this helps us and opens a big door for us in this great journey that we’re in.”
“In the skilled trades (at schools), all the participants are paid for their participation like, it’s kind of an earn and learn program. They all receive high school credit, and some receive college credit if there’s a dual enrollment component of the program,” said Danny. “And some of them also are receiving industry recognized credentials in their field.”
A study and focus groups that asked high school students about their interest in learning a trade if it was available. “Hands down, they said they would,” said, as this type of program could be included in JVS SoCal’s offerings in the future.
“We talked with the leadership there and we know (JVS SoCal’s CEO) Jeff Carr from his previous work with the City of Los Angeles and… we really respect what you’re doing with ApartmentWorks,” explains Corbin. “We’ve continued to talk with JVS about these possibilities. We hope they can take the successful program and make it available for younger people.”