tendai myamboTendai Myambo

Tendai Myambo of Concord enrolled in DVC last January with an interest in engineering but no concrete plan. Now, nine months later, he is a member of the Carpenters Union Local 22 in San Francisco and has a job in the construction trade doing carpentry. 

It’s all because of Diablo Valley College’s new pre-apprenticeship training program, in which Myambo was one of the first to enroll.

Students must commit to 18 weeks of full-time training in courses designed to help them pass entrance exams for a variety of apprenticeship programs. Myambo studied apprenticeship aspects of commercial carpentry, taking courses that included construction processes, blueprint reading, math, English, physical training, occupational safety and work standards, career development, and – his favorites– field vocabulary and gaining the experience to put on his resume. Students are taught through classroom instruction, one-on-one tutoring, a construction lab, field trips and guest speakers. 

Myambo completed the Carpenters Training Committee of Northern California (CTCNC) pre-apprenticeship program in September, joined the carpenters union Local 22 in San Francisco, and is a carpenter doing framing work in Cayuga Park in San Francisco. 

“I had other opportunities as well,” Myambo said. “Local 332 is giving me a second interview. I did a photography/mentor project for high school students in robotics, engineering and trades, spoke at an education career advancement program and to the Contra Costa board of education, and was invited to be on the CCCCD Measure A oversight committee.

“I also gained an understanding of the seriousness and professionalism in the work environment,” he concluded. “I would definitely recommend the program to others.”