Central Valley Training Center pre-apprenticeship program sees 16 more graduates

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has celebrated 16 more graduates of its Central Valley Training Center (CVTC) pre-apprenticeship program, surpassing 250 program graduates since it first began in 2020. 

The CVTC is a 10-week pre-apprenticeship program located in the city of Selma, Calif., that introduces students to 10 different construction trades. CHSRA says students are given the opportunity to work hands-on with journeyman-level workers from various fields like ironworkers, carpenters, roofers and cement masons and others. While doing so, they work to complete several construction-related certifications to take with them as they enter their new careers. 

The CVTC is a program in partnership with the CHSRA, the Fresno, Madera, Kings, Tulare Building Trades Council, Fresno Economic Development Corporation, Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission and the city of Selma. 

“The Central Valley Training Center provides students with the tools necessary to build successful construction industry careers,” said Central Valley Regional Director Garth Fernandez. “In many cases, it provides opportunities for them to join our construction team building the first fully electric high-speed rail system in the nation.” 

CHSRA says that within the Central Valley, 5,026 jobs have been filled by workers from Fresno County, 2,763 from Kern County, 1,602 from Tulare County, 712 from Madera County, 548 from Kings County and 227 from Merced County, Calif.