New Video Features UCA Graduates in Elevator Constructors Apprentices

The Maine AFL-CIO has released a new video featuring graduates of the Union Construction Academy of Maine and People’s Inclusive Welding who are now in apprenticeships with the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP). The UCA partners with building trades unions to provide basic construction and safety training to prepare diverse groups of workers for union careers earning good wages and excellent benefits.

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“NEIEP has truly changed my entire outlook on life. I’m finally at a point where I know I have a career that has set me up for life. It’s something I can do till my retirement. It’s also something that is helping me save for my retirement,” said Liz Capodilupo, a Local 4 elevator apprentice. “I definitely think this industry could be a best kept secret, but I think the work NEIEP is doing is lowering the barriers and making this trade much more accessible to all walks of life,

Local 4 apprentice and UCA graduate Omar Omarzai said NEIEP and the Maine AFL-CIO changed the whole trajectory of his career.

“Now I have a community that I did not have before. We develop good connections which is very, very important to me,” he said. “And at the end of the day, it’s a job that so many people want to have and I’m grateful that I’m in that position right now. If I did not hear about the union in that class, I don’t think I would ever be an elevator mechanic.”