Pre-Apprenticeship

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Pre-Apprenticeship Programs

Pre-apprenticeship programs are a great way to start exploring careers in construction. These programs utilize what’s called the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) that provides an overview of what each trade does and the qualifications and skills needed for each trade. The programs offer training on working safely, tool identification and use, blueprint reading, labor history, and construction-related math. They also offer career-entry advice and “employability” skills, like conflict resolution, good work habits, and preventing sexual harassment and bullying. In other words, as a pre-apprentice, you get to live the rigors of working in construction to make sure that it’s the right career choice for you.

While pre-apprenticeship does not guarantee a job, the Apprenticeship Coordinators know that graduates of pre-apprenticeship programs have a higher rate of success in apprenticeship and many graduates get placed when the training is over—if not before!

Find a pre-apprenticeship program

There are lots of pre-apprenticeship programs in the Greater Bay Area and across Los Angeles/Orange County and a few others in the Central Valley, Central Coast, in San Diego. The state is working to ensure that there are pre-apprenticeship opportunities in each of its 14 workforce regions. When you look for a program, the most important thing is to make sure that it uses the MC3 curriculum—that means that you'll get the most comprehensive overview and that the program has partnered with their local Building Trades Council and union apprenticeship programs, which is the connection you need to ensure that the pre-apprenticeship program leads you directly to apprenticeship and to work.

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