Before entering JARC’s Welding program in 2019, Michael V. was working as a bartender and felt stuck in his career. He describes that period simply as “spinning my wheels a little bit with like I was bartending and kind of wanted to get out of that.” With the cost of a four-year degree out of reach and family members already working in the trades, he began looking for a more direct pathway into skilled work.
He learned about JARC through coworkers who had completed the program, and the opportunity felt both accessible and practical. Looking back, he said, “that it was exactly what I needed at the time that I that I took the course.” It offered him a structured way to step into manufacturing and construction without the long academic route and aligned with his goal of entering the building trades.
From the start, Michael appreciated the structure of the welding training. He valued the “hands-on” curriculum” and the “open entry/open exit format and the diversity of the participants.” The classroom brought together people of different ages and backgrounds, which he found motivating.
While he felt the weekly financial literacy sessions were less useful for him personally, he understood their value for others in the cohort and stayed engaged with the overall program.
Balancing training with work was one of the hardest parts of his experience. He was still bartending while attending class full-time, and the long hours required real endurance. Welding demanded repetition and intense focus, and he often had to shut out distractions to stay on task. Over time, he noticed steady improvement and growing confidence. The repetition, while challenging, helped him build patience and discipline that carried into his career.
When asked what advice he would give future trainees, he said, “be ready to learn and to look for opportunities to advance.”
During his time in the program, Michael received 7 employment coaching sessions, 3 financial coaching sessions, and 1 income support. He also participated in 26 workshops covering topics such as resume writing, social media networking, financial literacy, digital literacy, credit scores, and banking. As a result of this support and his own commitment, his credit score increased by 110 points since 2019.
Michael also reflected that much of welding is learned through doing rather than instruction alone. He appreciated that the program emphasized practice and skill-building, allowing students to develop instinct over time. He earned his AWS certification during the program, marking an important milestone in his development. The experience, while sometimes repetitive, gave him a strong technical foundation and a clearer sense of direction.
He encouraged others to stay open to different roles within the trades and to use early job experiences as stepping stones toward long-term growth. He has already recommended the program to people he knows who are interested in skilled work.
Today, Michael works at Otis Elevator, where he is involved in elevator modernization projects in older buildings, upgrading and replacing complex systems. He enjoys the stability of the role and sees it as a long-term career in the trades. He shared, “I started with Otis Elevator October 2023 and current make $47.87 per hour, 65% of mechanics pay.” For Michael, this progress reflects years of steady growth since leaving JARC, where he first built the foundation for his career.
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