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Work Readiness

Beam Center’s Apprenticeship is a 54-hour credit-bearing program for high school students from our partner schools that takes place both in and out of school. Apprentices ages 15-24 gather twice a week at one of our programming sites and develop both their leadership and job related skills through guided, collaborative project making.

Each Apprenticeship cohort has a theme and creates thematically related projects over the course of the program. After completing the Apprenticeship, participants transition into Beam’s youth employment programs, known as Enterprises, and put their skills to use and help facilitate programs for other youth.

Skill Areas

Through participation in our Apprenticeship, youth develop their skills in positive relationship building, cultural awareness, and career exploration. Apprentices also explore project design, gain technical skills like woodworking and circuitry, and learn instructional skills such as lesson plan creation, program facilitation, and group management.

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Recent Projects + Themes

Featured
Spring 2023: Imagining Under The Sea
Spring 2023: Imagining Under The Sea

Apprentices delved into life on earth that we don’t encounter everyday on land while diving into the depths of their own creativity as they imagine this realm.

Fall 2022: The Shapes We Make
Fall 2022: The Shapes We Make

Two woodworking and mosaic projects. Apprentices design and build their own wooden stools with mosaic tops, then work collaboratively to design and build a bench.

Spring 2022: The Fabric of Our Lives
Spring 2022: The Fabric of Our Lives

A series of textile projects. Apprentices work in small groups to create a tapestry of embroidered patches, stitched by them. The color, material, and positioning of patches is selected to relay a message through their project.

Spring + Fall 2021: Radiance
Spring + Fall 2021: Radiance

A shared creative practice of exploring and project-making through light, movement, and communication.

Spring 2020: Light Waves
Spring 2020: Light Waves

Explored the theory, practice, application, and craft of light. Apprentices learned how to manipulate light as an art form, and practical tool, but also the fundamental properties of light particles using woodworking tools, electronics and microcontrollers, laser cutters, and metalwork.

Spring 2019: Fractal Mycology
Spring 2019: Fractal Mycology

A non traditional approach to science learning. Exploring the world of mushrooms and how they exchange their information with other organisms in the environment.

2023 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort A

2023 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort A

2023 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort B

2023 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort B

2023 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort C

2023 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort C

2023 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort D

2023 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort D

2022 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort A

2022 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort A

2022 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort B

2022 Spring Apprenticeship Cohort B

2022 Fall Apprenticeship Cohort A

2022 Fall Apprenticeship Cohort A

2022 Fall Apprenticeship Cohort B

2022 Fall Apprenticeship Cohort B

2021 Fall Apprenticeship Bronx International Cohort

2021 Fall Apprenticeship Bronx International Cohort

2021 Fall Apprenticeship WLG Cohort

2021 Fall Apprenticeship WLG Cohort

2020 Apprenticeship

2020 Apprenticeship

2019 Spring Apprenticeship

2019 Spring Apprenticeship

2018 Spring Apprenticeship

2018 Spring Apprenticeship

2017 Fall-Apprenticeship

2017 Fall-Apprenticeship

  • Beam Center Apprentice Daniel smiling in front of artwork on a brick wall.

    —Daniel, Spring 2022 Apprentice

    My role here is…I’m a student where I’m trying to have more skills than in the past. Basically because in the past I’d never know how to install art, how to make other things. Maybe in the future I’m never gonna get another program [like this]. So yeah, I’m a student, and thank god I’m here.

  • Beam Center Program Assistant Yaldiri holding a power drill in front of an orange background

    —Yaldiri, Spring 2022 Apprentice turned Program Assistant

    [The Apprenticeship] is a beautiful experience for me, because it was surprising for me that I met people from every part of the world and can communicate with them and realize that we are very similar about our cultures or what we do in our countries. Here together, we are all similar.