Saulih Khalifah was doing labor work for the Wells Fargo Center when he learned about CARP, The Carpenters’ Apprentice Ready Program. CARP’s goal is to identify and train motivated Philadelphia County residents that have existing barriers to employment in the building trades.

From 6abc.com:

The North Philadelphia native signed up for labor-intensive work at the Wells Fargo Center, such as changeover and trash duty. But he always kept a keen eye on the construction workers and decided he wanted to get even more hands-on.

They informed him about the Carpenters’ Apprentice Ready Program, or CARP, which is presented by The Carpenters Joint Apprentice Committee of Philadelphia & Vicinity, the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, and the General Building Contractors Association.

After getting his start in the weekly courses, Khalifah next needed to find a place to acquire work experience. Luckily for him, the Wells Fargo Center recognized his hard work and decided to sponsor him along with two others.

“The pre-apprentice and the apprentice program with the Carpenters’ Union has been a big part of our success not only with transformation, but just the daily operation in the arena,” said Phil Laws, President of the Wells Fargo Center.

Photo credit: 6abc.com