A new program in North Philadelphia aims totrain workers in the trades for free

The new workforce training center spans over 14,000 square feet in North Philadelphia at Esperanza's building at North 5th Street and West Bristol Street (Photo: Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer)

The initiative is a partnership between the nonprofit Esperanza, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, and the Tec Centro Workforce Network.

by Ariana Perez-Castells

Andre Rodriguez, 32, said he worked “a dead-end job” until this summer, when a pastor at his church handed him a flyer for a new workforce development program in North Philadelphia.

“I wanted more out of my life,” said Rodriguez, who grew up in . “[I] wanted to find a career that would be able to propel me and to do greater things.”