The San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), LIUNA, and the City of San Antonio joined together to implement the LEARN Construction Craft Laborer high school program at Sam Houston High School. The program is tailored to meet the current and future workforce needs of local area construction workers while offering career opportunities to students as a Construction Craft Laborer.

SAISD announced the partnership with LIUNA during the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony held on December 5th at the Sam Houston High School following presentation of colors from the Sam Houston High School JROTC cadets and support from the pom squad.

A total of 43 registered freshmen students enrolled in the inaugural class. Randall Lawrence, LIUNA Local 1095 Member and LEARN Instructor at Sam Houston HS looks forward to teaching the class, “The LEARN program is exceptional! I’m helping my students learn and they are actually excited. The curriculum is self explanatory and streamlined in a way that makes delivery easy which is a stark difference from NCCER. I hope to one day expand this program across the district.”

The LIUNA Learn Program is a four-year Career and Technical Education high school curriculum that provides students with applied academic, work, and life skills to enter a U.S. Department of Labor-Recognized Apprenticeship program.

Milwaukee Tool provided an endowment of power tools totaling an approximate $10k. LIUNA Local 1095 members volunteered to clean up classrooms and the shop area.

Matt Gonzales, LIUNA Local 1095 Business Manager said, “Having the LEARN program at Sam Houston HS is a game changer for the students and community. Working with Dr. Jaime Aquino (Superintendent) and his team at San Antonio ISD has been a great experience. They saw the value in partnering with LIUNA and what this program provides. The fact that they hired one of our journeyman members from the field to be the instructor further demonstrates their confidence in having LIUNA as a partner.

“Together we are focused on making generational change by exposing students to opportunities in the construction industry with the end goal is having a career with LIUNA that provides family sustaining wages and benefits.”

If you need more information about the program, please visit the official website of the LIUNA Learn Program.