DUMF is a charitable organization within the Dayton Foundation which supports programs for minorities and people living in poverty with trades training that opens up employment and/or apprenticeship opportunities in urban areas of Montgomery County.
With the help of local business owners Dexter McGhee of McGhee Electric and Lynn Gray of Pyramid Heating & Air, who serve as instructors, the foundation offers introductory level training programs for electric and HVAC trades.
The electrical training program offered by the foundation involves theory, safety, codes, wiring experience on a simulated wall and in a private home, and students complete 40 hours of training. The 40-hour HVAC training includes completing the construction and testing of their own heating control system prototypes, along with diagnostic experience on non-working systems in the training facility and in a private home scenario.
Upon completion, participants have a leg up to enter the workforce, find an apprenticeship, or continue their education, Cruse said.
“There is such a sense here of commitment to improve their lives. They feel empowered and at the same time supported by the community,” Cruse said. “They’ve really developed some skills and self-confidence, and the big step forward is now to turn this into jobs.”
Participants range in age and previous experience, but most join the program for similar reasons, including to earn more lucrative income and to have a career they enjoy.
Trenton Warren had no formal education in electrical work, but broke into the field after meeting McGhee on a job site where he’d been doing construction. A 17-year-old at the time, Warren soon began job shadowing McGhee before deciding to open his own business, Warrens Electric LLC.
“This is a trade I want to be in for the rest of my life,” Warren, now 21, said Saturday.
Erick Watson, 53, said he was drawn to the electrical field in an effort to earn more money and to shift toward a less physically demanding job.
“This is one of the highest paying trades right now,” he said, adding that he has previous experience in remodeling and roofing. “There was a lot of money in that, too, but it was back-breaking.”
Program participants also had access Saturday to the Montgomery County Mobile Workforce Unit — an RV repurposed as an extension of the Job Center in Dayton. The Mobile Workforce Unit allows individuals to get assistance with resumes, job searches, job training opportunities, and more.
To learn more, visit daytonurbanministry.org.
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