Jhovanny, Workforce Development graduate builds a career in construction

When Jhovanny joined Canal Alliance’s Construction Classes in fall 2019, he “didn’t think much of it,” he says. “I was a little bit nervous, but I knew I needed to get more out of my comfort zone.” He had been working in the construction field and was aspiring to make it his long-term career. “I knew I needed some certificate for my employers and that this would also give me a raise.” 

After concluding the course, Jhovanny connected to new employment opportunities with the support of Canal Alliance. The impact has been dramatic. “I ended up leaving my previous job and got a better job closer to home because of it,” he shares. “Not only did my thirty-minute commute get cut down to five minutes, but my new job also pays much better. I pretty much advanced five years in my career by taking the three-month Construction Classes. I’m supervising now which I had never thought I would be doing this early in my professional career.”  

“When I was younger, I ended up dropping out of college because I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Jhovanny reflects. “I ended up doing construction, and then decided I wanted to perfect this and really build something out of it. I wanted my own company; this was always my dream.”  

Jhovanny communicates like a visionary leader, while connecting as a peer: “A lot of my family is in the construction business, as well, but they don’t get paid well enough. I want to be a general contractor, hire people from my community, and work as a team. Everyone should be able to be heard. Whether you are experienced or not, everyone should have a say at the table. 

“I want to get my family away from these jobs where they aren’t paid well, and they don’t have benefits. In my current role as a supervisor, I was able to a friend a job to support his family when they were impacted by the pandemic, and that’s been pretty amazing. I want my company to be a program where I help people work their way up and then they can start their own company. I’m really thankful that my community has Canal Alliance and that I could get the help and that anyone who needs help could go there.”