Bridgeways is Providing Apprenticeships!

Bridgeways has begun a partnership with non-profit AJAC to provide its employees the opportunity to skill-up and provide greater opportunity for growth! AJAC, stands for Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee, they are a statewide, nonprofit 501c (3) aerospace and advanced manufacturing registered apprenticeship program. AJAC’s mission is, “to provide exceptional and responsive apprenticeships, innovative supporting signature training with cutting-edge curriculum and highly effective trade’s trainers.

Who We Are

For those of you who are not familiar with our organization, we are a non-profit employment social enterprise. This means that we employ some of those that we serve. Bridgeways’ mission is, “To provide services that promote quality of life for individuals living with a mental health concern in a manner that facilitates growth, independence, and a sense of community.” We provide this better quality of life directly through our clinical programs. These are our Supported Housing, Supported Employment and Jail Diversion program. Indirectly, the manufacturing side of our organization works and provides funding support towards our clinical programs to keep them running. Greater cohesion of these two sides of our organization has long been our goal.

Employment

One way we have provided that greater cohesion is through employment. Employment is an important step on the pathway towards self-sufficiency for those struggling with homelessness, substance use, mental health or otherwise. Access to a healthy work environment is crucial to an individual’s success in life and their potential growth. It is the topic of growth we concern ourselves with and ask how can we be better facilitating not just ample opportunity for employment, but how we also help support opportunities for individuals to realize their full potential? We are excited about our partnership with AJAC because we believe it does just that.

Now, you may say, “doesn’t this program serve all of your manufacturing workforce not just those with a mental health concern?” Which we would say, “Yes,” part of our philosophy with our manufacturing is not to identify who is who. We don’t indicate or treat any of those within our manufacturing that we hired through our clinical services any differently from those we hired through our other channels. This is where we see that cohesion between our clinical services and our manufacturing. We both are serving those within our clinical programs and our manufacturing and still fulfilling our mission.

Our Goal

This greater alignment is the continued goal of Bridgeways that we believe provides a better quality of service for our clinical clients, by leaning into what we know, manufacturing. This also provides our manufacturing clients with an extra incentive in doing business with us. We show our manufacturing clients that a business can not only have a 99% on-time delivery rate, but also make the community that they work in better. Working with us solves their manufacturing problems and helps to solve larger societal problems with employment, housing, and the criminal justice system.

Adding To The Workforce

In addition to fulfilling our own internal goals, we also believe our partnership is helping to support a continued need for jobs within aerospace. According to the Washington Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board’s Aerospace Pipeline Report, an average of 15,000 jobs annually will become available between 2022 and 2027 and we see Bridgeways as an important part of skilling up our staff and providing them the opportunity to be a contributing part of that work force.  

If you want to find out more about AJAC (Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee) click the link HERE!