To Angel Lopez, learning to make connections and follow up on job prospects is just as important as any hands-on training.
“BIG STEP links you with people and gives you good information about who to talk to,” Angel said. “The skills that I learned are invaluable, but the follow-up gets you across the finish line. If you don’t follow up, you’re not going to get the interview.”
Angel enrolled in Highway Construction Skills Training (HCST) at our Racine office in 2025. This certified pre-apprenticeship program, funded by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, prepares participants for careers with roadbuilding contractors. After graduating from HCST in May 2025, he joined the sprinkler fitters union and took a job at J.F. Ahern as a chemical system installer.
“It always seemed like it was rare to get into any union,” Angel said, “but BIG STEP made it achievable.”
Being part of a union was important to Angel, who had experienced retaliation at a previous non-union job for raising concerns about safety on the job site.
“I was at a job that didn’t have HVAC, and I complained about not having an exhaust fan,” Angel said. “I got fired when I came back from family leave. There’s no protection in the private sector. In the union, I have protection, good benefits, and get paid well.”
Unions offer the opportunity to continue building industry contacts and networks, much like WRTP | BIG STEP’s programs. Angel said he took a union job as a sprinkler fitter over a non-union job as an electrician, his preferred trade, because he saw the value in continuing to build his network.
“I took being in the union over the job that I wanted to do,” Angel said. “Being in the union, you’re making contacts, getting paid, and getting good benefits. If you’re young enough, you can switch unions if that’s truly what you want to do. You don’t feel dumb when you’re taking home a $2,000 paycheck and making almost $50 per hour.”