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ZCAF Programs
ZCAF Programs
ZCAF Programs
ZCAF's Mobile Wood Shop will teach woodworking skills
at schools, community events, and at the Iris Street
Woodworking Studio in Washington, D.C.
ZCAF’s Woodworking Program is focused on three tracks. The first track is using the Mobile
Woodshop to teach professional skills to individuals interested in pursuing a career in carpentry.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, carpentry is the most endangered
career in the building industry. ZCAF’s Pre-Apprenticeship Training helps meet this need by
training a new generation of carpenters. We seek to partner with builders, construction
companies, and cabinet makers that have employment opportunities for individuals who have
gone through our training.
The second track is using the Mobile Woodshop to introduce woodworking activities at festivals and community events such as the Renwick Block Party, DC State Fair, National Building Museum, Art All Night on Georgia Avenue, DCBIA Community Improvement Day, and Down in the Reeds on the grounds of the old Walter Reed Hospital where citizens from five to eighty years old discovered the satisfaction of making something with their own hands.
The third track takes place in the Iris Street Studio, where individuals interested in artistic applications and do-it-yourself projects take classes. This program is anchored in a permanent studio at ZCAF Headquarters in Ward 4, where large equipment, projects and lumber are stored.
Zenith Community Arts Foundation’s Pre-Apprenticeship Carpentry Training (PACT) is currently being offered to Ballou STAY Opportunity Academy in Ward 8 to young adults (ages 18-24) considering a career in the building trades. The PACT is a rigorous program. Upon successful completion, students will receive certificates making them more competitive in union-sponsored apprenticeships or other building trade jobs. This reinvestment in vocational training comes at a time when a generation of carpenters is retiring, job vacancies are growing, and city-wide woodshops have closed.
The anchor for the Mobile Woodshop programs is a 20-foot box truck to transport a woodshop-on-wheels. This truck is especially equipped with hand and power tools laid out for operation within the truck itself. It will also house lumber and other supplies. Because the workspace is limited to 160 sq ft, however, a 10′ x 20′ canopy and a classroom in Ballou STAY HS has been added.
ZCAF’s programs are designed to enrich hands-on skill development. These activities ensure that the importance of manual skills are not lost in the digital age, particularly this time of acute labor shortages in the building trades.
Click Here to learn more about the Mobile Wood Shop!
The second track is using the Mobile Woodshop to introduce woodworking activities at festivals and community events such as the Renwick Block Party, DC State Fair, National Building Museum, Art All Night on Georgia Avenue, DCBIA Community Improvement Day, and Down in the Reeds on the grounds of the old Walter Reed Hospital where citizens from five to eighty years old discovered the satisfaction of making something with their own hands.
The third track takes place in the Iris Street Studio, where individuals interested in artistic applications and do-it-yourself projects take classes. This program is anchored in a permanent studio at ZCAF Headquarters in Ward 4, where large equipment, projects and lumber are stored.
Zenith Community Arts Foundation’s Pre-Apprenticeship Carpentry Training (PACT) is currently being offered to Ballou STAY Opportunity Academy in Ward 8 to young adults (ages 18-24) considering a career in the building trades. The PACT is a rigorous program. Upon successful completion, students will receive certificates making them more competitive in union-sponsored apprenticeships or other building trade jobs. This reinvestment in vocational training comes at a time when a generation of carpenters is retiring, job vacancies are growing, and city-wide woodshops have closed.
The anchor for the Mobile Woodshop programs is a 20-foot box truck to transport a woodshop-on-wheels. This truck is especially equipped with hand and power tools laid out for operation within the truck itself. It will also house lumber and other supplies. Because the workspace is limited to 160 sq ft, however, a 10′ x 20′ canopy and a classroom in Ballou STAY HS has been added.
ZCAF’s programs are designed to enrich hands-on skill development. These activities ensure that the importance of manual skills are not lost in the digital age, particularly this time of acute labor shortages in the building trades.
Click Here to learn more about the Mobile Wood Shop!
