RIDE Pre-Apprenticeship Program | Community Benefits Agreement

RIDE Pre-Apprenticeship Program | Community Benefits Agreement

In partnership with Jobs to Move America (JMA) and SMART Local 105, RIDE became the first electric vehicle manufacturer to have a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) which is designed to create opportunities in the manufacturing industry for underrepresented and underserved populations.

RIDE is committed to recruit and hire workers from groups facing employment barriers, including veterans, returning citizens, women and people of color. The CBA also involves the development of training and apprenticeship programs in the electric bus manufacturing and assembly industry. These trainings have created a career ladder for existing workers who are gaining cutting-edge skills, and an industry-recognized credential via an apprenticeship program, thereby earning more on the job.

The pre-apprenticeship is an eight-week, 24- to 30-hour per week commitment. It includes 32-hour, hands-on hard skills practicum, classroom instruction, a worker panel discussion and a RIDE facility tour. Individuals who successfully complete the pre-apprenticeship are placed on a priority hiring list for entry-level positions at the plant and bypass the required one year of tenured employment and are granted direct entry into the IMT apprenticeship.

Together, the RIDE-SMART apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs comprise the single largest investment in high-quality employment and training programs by any electric transit vehicle manufacturer in U.S. history.

“Through our CBA, we are reaching out to people who have a hard time getting a job,” said Steve McCauley, who works as a material specialist at RIDE. “This gives people a chance to move forward, giving them self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment. […] People have turned themselves around here,” McCauley said of second-chance citizens hired by RIDE. “We’re seeing people move up. It’s a beautiful thing, and we can really thank the CBA.”