Waterfront Training Center
Waterfront South Training Center
Mid-2024 Status Report
Thank you again for your interest in the Camden Shipyard Museum's Carpentry Pre-Apprentice program.
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Here is a brief description of our program:
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The Carpentry Pre-Apprentice Program is an 8-week vocational training course that started with the first cohort of 10 students in January 2023. We are currently midway through the program with our 7th cohort, and 54 students have completed the training thus far.
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The course format is 7-hour days, four days/week (Mon-Thurs). Our instructor works 8 hours four days a week, plus 4 more on Friday. The extra time goes to preparing lessons, preparing the shop (tools and layout spaces), and tracking and ordering materials
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Our instructor is a retired union carpenter, with over 30 years of residential and commercial experience
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Our curriculum was created by a registered professional engineer (structural), who also assists with some of the teaching
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The curriculum focuses on three areas – general life skills; general career skills; and specific carpentry trade skills. The general format of the course is:
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One week building park benches – simple structures made of cut-to-length 2x material assembled with wood screws
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Two weeks building picnic tables – more complex structures requiring laying out and cutting angles and deducing measurements from overall dimensions
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Five weeks building shed structures containing all the carpentry elements of a custom house:
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Floor joists and decking
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Wall studs and sheathing
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Roof rafters and decking
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Rough window and door openings, with headers, jacks, and trimmers for installation of vinyl windows and a site-built door
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House wrap and window flashings
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Siding and shingle roofing
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Exterior trim including soffits, facias, corner boards, window & door trim
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These construction tasks are broken down into steps executed over the 8 weeks, but interspersed with the construction tasks are daily lesson times:
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One hour/day of math instruction using the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) “Math for the Trades” textbook (First 5 weeks)
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One hour/day of career counseling using the United Brotherhood of Carpenters “One Trade, Many Careers” PowerPoint presentation (First 3 weeks)
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Two 2 hours sessions on personal finance presented by representatives from local banks
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One hour of carpenter testimonial from a union carpenter (in addition to their teacher)
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Two hours on resume preparation
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One to two hours on interview skills
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The administrator of the program also produces a resume for each participant before the course ends
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In addition to resumes for all students, they are provided at the end of the course with reference letters and personal referrals to contractors, builders, and other related businesses as appropriate for the skill level and work ethic of the student
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Regarding our students and graduates:
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Our student population for the first 3 cohorts was referred to us by the Camden Housing Authority. CHA provided us with the names and contact info, including the application forms, of individuals aged 17-27 in Camden. After the third cohort, word of mouth about the program began to spread, and we advertised on local community bulletin boards and contacted other neighborhood organizations (such as Heart of Camden) to invite applicants. As a result, we have had students mostly from Camden but also from Camden, Gloucester, and even Burlington Counties participating in our cohorts. We do not require a high school diploma, and we do encourage formerly incarcerated people and people of all gender statuses. We do not yet accept students that are in high school presently but are developing an after-school program for high school-aged students.
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Tracking our graduates has proven more difficult than anticipated, and our administrator is working on creating a database that would include employment status after graduation. We have documented
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One student sponsored and worked for the carpenter’s union (UBC).
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Two students were accepted into the UBC “CARP” program, which fast-tracks people from underserved communities.
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One of these students has been sponsored and is working for a union contractor
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The other student is in the union’s pile driving school, currently learning scuba for underwater welding
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We have one graduate that has gone into the Air Force,
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We have connected students with employers who are in the process of hiring for a commercial cabinet-making startup – and are awaiting the official startup of the new shop.
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We have one graduate who has been hired by a local township in public works.
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Many of our students have taken jobs (or presently have jobs) at warehouses (Amazon, Fed Ex, for example).
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We have students who have applied with their resumes and recommendation letters for other related jobs in welding and commercial (CDL) driving.
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In our current cohort, we have two students interviewing currently for another commercial cabinet shop in Pennsauken.
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We are working on tracking graduates more closely to be able to more accurately report on outcomes. Our short-term goals include acquiring a vacant row home in our neighborhood to use as a “Laboratory House” where our students can do actual demolition, remodeling, and construction of additions. We also are looking to push more vocational development experiential learning down to the high school level, teaming with Urban Promise and their wooden boat building program.
Thank you again for your time and interest.
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Tom Kulp (he/him)
Director - Office of Experiential Learning
Urban Promise
P.O. Box 1479
Camden, NJ 08105
Office: (856) 382-1887
Mobile: (609)-707-4708
