Follow us on Twitter

It takes partnership

  1. Home
  2. About the project
  3. Building offshore wind in NY

M.A.P.P.: the route to family-sustaining wages


Sunrise Wind is helping fund the Multi-Craft Apprenticeship Preparation Program (M.A.P.P.), providing a path to family-sustaining careers and bringing diversity to the workforce that’s building New York’s new renewable energy industry. The program’s Executive Director, Kereem Berry, explains more.


“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” At M.A.P.P., we say: if you teach a person a trade, you feed them for a lifetime.
Female workers
The Multi-Craft Apprenticeship Preparation Program (M.A.P.P.) gives people experience in everything from carpentry to electrical work

They say life is built on second chances.

At M.A.P.P., we focus on any chance. We bring a whole new demographic of people to the table – people who have been shut out for whatever reason, mostly based on race. That way, we can help unions increase their workforce while making them more equitable across the board. It’s a win-win for everybody. 

We work in Rochester and Albany. To join the program, you must be aged 18 to 40, have a high school diploma or equivalent, a valid driver’s license, a vehicle, and be able to pass a drug screening.

Once you’re in, that’s when the magic really happens. We’ll bring you in, people who have zero experience with any type of tool whatsoever, and we’ll give you practical, hands-on experience with everything from regular hand tools like screwdrivers to power tools such as jackhammers. We’ll give you a little bit of carpentry, a little bit of masonry, a little bit of electrical work. We give people a touch of everything and let them see what they’re good at.

“

We can help unions increase their workforce while making them more equitable. It’s a win-win for everybody.

— Kereem Berry, Executive Director, M.A.P.P.


We teach you to be proud of what you do. As a craftsperson, you want people to look at what you produced and say, who did that? That’s really good work.

When you’re in a union, you’re the controller of your own destiny. And to anyone who’s unaware of the union movement, we say: it’s about sharing wealth. Unions are about a living wage. You’re not going to get rich, but you’re going to be able to sustain your family.

We also encourage our apprentices to develop a strong commitment to their community. To give back what M.A.P.P. gave to them.

It’s exciting to be part of the renewable energy movement. There’s a whole lot of construction to be done, and it’s going to be union workers doing it. It’s years of employment, years of skill building.

At M.A.P.P., we can be at the forefront of the movement by preparing workers for the new opportunities it brings. Our apprentices could be building the future of energy in New York.

The Multi-Craft Apprenticeship Preparation Program (M.A.P.P.) is a New York State not-for-profit organization designed to help historically disadvantaged people enter the building and construction industries. M.A.P.P. is based in Rochester, and you can find more via the website.

Watch the M.A.P.P. story

What else does it take to build an equitable clean energy industry?