With a wife and four children between the ages of 7 and 14 depending on him, Anthony’s family needed the kind of long-term stability his career couldn’t provide. After 15 years as a barber, he began looking for a path that offered a more secure future.
“I need something more stable for my family,” he said. “Being a barber, you don’t have retirement. You don’t have benefits.”
Anthony, a resident of National CORE‘s Sycamore Springs affordable housing community, enrolled in Hope through Housing’s free CORE Academy property maintenance program.
Launched in 2022, CORE Academy offers free career training programs in property management, property maintenance, social media marketing, studio management and production management. The academy is designed to move individuals who are underemployed or in unstable jobs into high-demand career fields that are more likely to sustain a family.
This year, CORE Academy will provide training to more than 30 cohorts, part of an unprecedented expansion.
Anthony was one of seven graduates recognized during the academy’s July property maintenance graduation for completing training in electrical systems, plumbing, drywall, HVAC and other essential skills.
The cohort also included Matthew, 28, a warehouse worker who enrolled after deciding he wanted to explore skilled trades.
“Every time I had a class, I went home and tried something,” Matthew said. “I switched some outlets around the house. I realized I was capable of a lot more than I thought.”
Today, Matthew is excited to pursue a career in property maintenance.
“Whatever comes, I’m ready,” he said.
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