Each week, staff at Wind River Job Corps nominates a student who has shown excellent behavior towards their academics and peers. To view all nominated students, click here.
Student weighs options, all of them rewarding
Wind River Job Corps student Brake Kumangai is nearing graduation in one of Job Corps most lucrative trade majors, as a Heavy Equipment Mechanic. During his training, he’s had the opportunity to work on over seventeen different pieces of equipment ranging from diesel trucks to road graders, forklifts to front loaders, with instruction provided by the International Order of Operating Engineers. With his pre-apprenticeship completed at Job Corps, he is qualified for apprenticeship roles with either union and non-union employers, with wages starting in excess of $25 per hour.
Brake came to Riverton’s Job Corps campus from Centennial, Colorado. “This student has really matured while here on-center over the months. His work ethic has developed in a stronger fashion. He sees the light at the end of the training tunnel and is headed towards a bright future at full speed,” says center director Dr. Kristen Benson. “He has a great sense of humor that helps keeps stress in check.”
Upon graduation, Brake plans to find a good paying job in the construction industry, although he’s also considering Advanced Training in automotive hybrid electrics at our Utah campus. Brake says “I am not sure which path I will take just yet. I still have some time to think it over.”
Congratulations to Wind River Job Corps student of the week Brake Kumangai.
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WIND RIVER JOB CORPS serves up to 300 campus-based and non-residential students generally originating from the Rocky Mountain states. The center provides over 16 career tracks offered through eight vocational programs, including pre-apprenticeship opportunities. These programs have been determined and developed based on the current high-performing job market trends in the region. Included in vocational training are employability skills and community engagement. Wind River Job Corps is the newest of the 124 Job Corps centers located throughout the United States, opening in 2015. It is operated by the Alternate Perspectives, Inc. for the Department of Labor and is located at 4200 Airport Rd in Riverton, Wyoming.
JOB CORPS is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor. The program helps income-eligible young people ages 16 through 24 complete their high school education, trains them for meaningful careers, and assists them with obtaining employment. Job Corps has trained and educated over two million individuals since 1964. It is the largest nationwide residential career training program in the country and has been operating for more than 50 years.
At Job Corps, students have access to room and board while they learn skills in specific training areas for up to three years. In addition to helping students complete their education, obtain career technical skills and gain employment, Job Corps also provides transitional support services, such as help finding employment, housing, child care, and transportation. Job Corps graduates either enter the workforce or an apprenticeship, go on to higher education, or join the military.
API Alternate Perspectives Incorporated (API) is a certified small, woman-owned company with corporate headquarters just outside our nation’s capital. API’s mission is to help individuals and organizations achieve their goals and realize their dreams by providing them with new ways of thinking to create new ways of doing. API staff have extensive Job Corps experience in almost every aspect of the Job Corps program. The API Operating model begins with building a “positive normative culture” at each center defined by four norms: respect self, respect others, respect community, and strive for excellence. Students and staff at the Wind River Job Corps Center are expected to adopt and embrace these norms to learn, grown, and strive for continuous improvement. In addition to Wind River Job Corps, API operates the Westover Job Corps Center, and Shriver Job Corps Center, both in Massachusetts.