FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 7, 2022

CONTACT:
LAX Public Relations
(424) 646-5260

HIRELAX PROGRAM CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY WITH 14TH COHORT GRADUATION, SURPASSING 200 UNION JOB PLACEMENTS, 300 GRADUATES

California Labor & Workforce Development Agency Secretary Natalie Palugyai, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Economic Opportunity & Chief Equity Officer Brenda Shockley, Los Angeles World Airports Chief Executive Officer Justin Erbacci, program staff and other officials celebrated the fifth anniversary and the newest graduates of the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program.

(Los Angeles) Today, the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program celebrated its fifth anniversary with the graduation of 16 students who are now ready to pursue construction trade apprenticeships.

In a ceremony that included California Labor & Workforce Development Agency Secretary Natalie Palugyai, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Economic Opportunity & Chief Equity Officer Brenda Shockley and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Chief Executive Officer Justin Erbacci, the program celebrated surpassing 300 graduates and 200 placements into union construction positions.

"Few workforce development programs make such positive and lasting changes on people's lives to the degree HireLAX has made. In the last five years HireLAX has provided hundreds of local community members from Los Angeles' diverse population with personally and financially rewarding construction careers," said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, LAWA. "I am incredibly proud of our graduates for the hard work they put in to graduate, to build the future of our airports and to help make the construction industry become more inclusive and diverse."

Students were recognized during the ceremony at Los Angeles Southwest College, and heard from speakers including Secretary Palugyai; Deputy Mayor Shockley; Dr. Anthony Culpepper, President, Los Angeles Southwest College; Chris Hannan, Executive Secretary, Los Angeles & Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council; Sergio Hernandez, an instructor at Los Angeles Southwest College, and CEO Erbacci.

Today's celebration included recognition of the placement of the program's 200th graduate into a union construction position, which took place on August 31. With today's presentation of certificates, the HireLAX program has graduated 314 students.

HireLAX is a partnership among LAWA, Los Angeles Southwest College and the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. This workforce development program prepares local residents for skilled craft labor careers to support the multi-billion-dollar capital improvement program at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) through an eight-week course that trains participants in construction best practices, mathematics, physical education, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and other subjects.

The program has gained national attention. During his July visit to announce funding for airport infrastructure projects from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, including a $50 million grant for LAX, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg held a roundtable discussion with HireLAX graduates and learned first-hand how the program provides life-changing job opportunities that also help meet LAWA's critical need for trained construction workers.

"We must leave no talent on the table while building tomorrow's infrastructure," Secretary Buttigieg said in a post to Twitter. "HireLAX trains people who live in the community – especially women and people of color – for construction jobs at (LAX). Programs like this are timely and needed across the USA."

All participants are from the City of Los Angeles or the surrounding LAX area. Of those graduating from Cohort 14:

• 3 identify as women
• 4 identify as Black/African American
• 11 identify as Hispanic/Latino

Since the first cohort in 2017 through the previous graduation of cohort 13 in August, the program has placed 71.8% of its 298 graduates into new careers, with a majority of graduates starting as union apprenticeship participants. Of this group, 109 graduates began their construction careers on LAX projects, including the West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal, and LAX's forthcoming Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility and Automated People Mover.

Selected demographic information from Cohorts 1 - 13 are as follows:

• 20.5% identify as women (61)
• 45.6% identify as Black/African American (136)
• 45.3% identify as Hispanic/Latino (135)
• 34% have had prior involvement with the criminal justice system (100)

Today's graduates have the opportunity to follow the path established by members of previous cohorts, such as Janette Cortez, a HireLAX graduate who earned Journeyperson status earlier this year. She started her path to a construction career as a mother of two in the program's first cohort, and today works as a Sound & Communication Electrician on LAX's Terminal 3 modernization project.

HireLAX has also provided second chances for the 34% of its graduates who have had prior involvement with the criminal justice system. This includes Reginald Malone, also part of the program's first cohort, who entered the program following a nearly 30-year period of incarceration. Today, he is serving as a Carpenter with Journeyperson status, which he earned in December 2021, and regularly volunteers mentoring at-risk youth.

Contractors performing work on LAWA projects are expected to meet or exceed 30% local hire participation. The HireLAX program trains local residents to earn these jobs. Upon completion of the program, graduates are connected with union apprenticeship programs and contractors, so they can begin their construction careers at LAX.

The HireLAX program was developed within the framework of LAWA's Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which is a partnership between LAWA, its contractors and the local construction unions. The PLA requires contractors and unions to refer local workers to the project and to conduct outreach to persons who have not previously had access to employment opportunities on construction projects, especially underrepresented minorities and women. The PLA was extended by the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners for an additional 10 years, to 2030, in November 2020.

The LAWA PLA and the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program are managed by Pasadena-based Parsons Corporation. Additional support services are provided by the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles through their America's Job Centers and WorkSource/YouthSource Centers. Nonprofits Flintridge Center and 2nd Call, and the County of Los Angeles and City of Los Angeles support services network provide comprehensive case management for students and graduates.

A short video that highlights the incredible impact HireLAX has on its graduates can be viewed here. Questions about the program can be emailed to hirelax@lawa.org.

About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

LAX, the fifth-busiest airport in the world in 2021 with 48 million passengers, is in the midst of a multi-billion-dollar capital improvement program that will touch on all nine passenger terminals and build new facilities, including an Automated People Mover (APM) train, Consolidated Rent-A-Car (ConRAC) facility and the West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal.

In 2019, LAX served nearly 88.1 million passengers and offered an average of 700 daily nonstop flights to 113 destinations in the U.S. and 1,200 weekly nonstop flights to 91 markets in 46 countries on 72 commercial airlines.

LAX generates 620,600 jobs in Southern California, with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion, according to an economic study based on 2014 operations. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX's ongoing capital improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion; $966 million in state and local taxes; and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.

LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City's general fund.

LAWA is leading the aviation industry in sustainability practices, with initiatives related to water management, energy (electricity) management, air quality, recycling and natural resources management. In 2019, LAX received Level III ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation from Airports Council International-Europe.

LAWA is also a leader in inclusivity, operating eight programs that provide opportunities for business enterprises including local, small, minority-owned, veteran-owned and disadvantaged firms, and working together with community partners to offer the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program, which targets local workers to make them ready for rewarding careers in the construction trades, and the Build LAX Academy, designed to prepare small contracting businesses for success when working on projects at LAX.

LAX was named a top-10 U.S. airport by SKYTRAX in 2018, and was honored as the "Most Innovative Airport for Passenger Experience" in 2019 by the American Association of Airport Executives. LAX is the second-most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram, according to wego.com. Other recent honors have included selection as the No. 9 Best Airport (Wall Street Journal); No. 7 Best On-Time Performance for a Mega-Hub Airport (OAG); one of "The World's Best Airports for Business Travelers" (GlobeHunters); Public-Private Partnership of the Year (P3 Bulletin); Urth Caffe, Best Airport Coffee Concession of the Year (Global FAB Awards); Innovation of the Year, Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ARTBA); Best Project, United Airlines Terminal 7 and 8 Redevelopment Program (Engineering News Record California); North American Public-Private Partnership Deal of the Year (IJ Global); and Innovative Transportation Solution of the Year, Automated People Mover (WTS LA).

As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request.

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