Workforce layoff leads to rewarding opportunities in construction
by Matthew Craggs
Workforce Connection was there to provide Enrique Anchondo with the tools to succeed in the construction industry after Bitwise Industries closed in 2023, laying off him and hundreds of other Fresno-area workers. Anchondo had worked in tenant improvement for three years doing everything from landscaping and plumbing to electrical and drywall.
Workforce Connection, funded and directed by the Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board, offers participants access and guidance to more than 120 services and programs to help them excel in a variety of careers.
For participants with a work history or interest in construction, such as Anchondo, Workforce Connection may look to the ValleyBuild program — a 14-county training program funded by grants from the state of California.
“I would not have known this sheet metal union existed if I hadn’t gone through ValleyBuild.”
Enrique Anchondo, ValleyBuild partipant and Pattonair
“It’s the full solution,” says Garret Lecat, rapid response coordinator for Workforce Connection. “Participants are going to come through the program and attend job readiness workshops on soft skills such as resume writing and interview skills. That’s before they get to the part of meeting unions.”
“Preparing people for a career in construction,” says Izabell Franco, re-employment specialist for Workforce Connection, “they learn directly from the trade unions. It could be bricklayers or electricians or roofers.” Along with plumbers, iron workers, and glaziers, ValleyBuild connects participants with more than ten trade unions.
“They work directly with unions to gain that hands-on experiences and to earn certifications they may not have had coming into the program,” says Franco. When Franco met Anchondo after he was laid off from Bitwise Industries and discussed his 15 years of maintenance experience, she knew she wanted to introduce him to the ValleyBuild program.
“I was kind of stuck in limbo,” says Anchondo. “I’ve done everything. I wanted to find something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life, be comfortable in, and stick to it.” After talking with a colleague who had participated in ValleyBuild, Anchondo worked with Franco to enroll in the program.
Anchondo initially thought he wanted to be an electrician, but his visit to the sheet metal union changed his mind. Upon attending the sheet metal class and watching the instructor turn a flat piece of metal into a toolbox, he was amazed at what the hands-on process could achieve. Anchondo found his calling as a sheet metal worker.
After completing ValleyBuild’s 10-week program — that included OSHA-30, Hazwoper 40, First Aid, CPR, Forklift and Scissor Lift Safety training certifications— the program continues to work for its participants. Anchondo was offered the opportunity to work at Sheet Metal Workers’ Union Local No. 104 to fulfill the 200-hour transitional job requirement after the program.
Within weeks, Anchondo was offered a job with Patton Air where he could continue fulfilling his hours— which he gladly accepted. “The speed to career is special,” says Franco. “Getting them from unemployment to employment can happen very quickly.”
While Anchondo is quick to thank the Project Coordinators who helped him navigate ValleyBuild, Franco credits Anchondo himself. “Enrique is a shining example of what can be accomplished,” says Franco, “when grit and determination is combined with the support and resources of a program like ValleyBuild.”
At the graduation ceremonies for Workforce Connection’s programs, Lecat sees the effect of training skilled workers. “I get to see how much of an impact it has on not just this one person, but their family,” says Lecat. “The positive ripples through the community.”
And those ripples are long lasting as ValleyBuild seeks to not only match a worker with a job but, as with Achondo, a career. “I would not have known this sheet metal union existed if I hadn’t gone through ValleyBuild,” says Anchondo. “I can see myself doing that every day and enjoying it.”
With resources and programs such as ValleyBuild, laid off employees can mitigate the impact unemployment brings — and just maybe turn it into something quite constructive.
For more information about ValleyBuild’s programs, visit them online at valleybuild.net or call 855-805-7245.
