Abram, CNC Mill Operator – Pioneer Industries

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Abram had been locked up for nearly half of his life. The last time he was in prison he made up his mind – he was not going to give the system one more second of his life after his release.

"When you are tired of things not working out you need to stop the pattern in your life that is messing you up. In prison I started to recondition my brain that I needed to study, find an apprenticeship and earn legal money. My past life was done – I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Abram was sent to Pioneer’s federal residential reentry center in Tacoma to finish out his sentence. That’s where he heard about Pioneer’s job training and aerospace manufacturing apprenticeship programs. After being accepted into Roadmap to Success, a 150-hour training program, Abram advanced into the 10-week Manufacturing Academy. He was a quick study and already a certified welder, so upon his graduation Pioneer Industries hired him on the manufacturing floor and he began his journey of memorizing and learning every machine and tool.

“Sometimes I drew pictures of the tools and cutters to keep track of it all. Several people on the manufacturing floor went out of their way to mentor me and help me along. When Pioneer offered to give me a shot at the apprenticeship it all clicked – this is what I had been planning for when I was in prison. Now I had the chance to earn good money and move up in my life using my brains.”