Fast-Track Training, Long-Term Success

Before he enrolled in the Construction Ready Pre-Apprenticeship program in late 2017, Miguel Boozer had no construction experience. Four weeks later, he had earned eight credentials – at no monetary cost to him – and a job offer from Anning-Johnson Company. Today, almost a decade later, he’s a leadman running his own crew for Anning-Johnson, and he’s closing in on his next big career step, a foreman role.

Miguel’s story is a prime example of how one can build a promising construction career despite coming to the industry with no relevant work history. Looking back, he says the fast-track preparation offered by Construction Ready was invaluable.

“Instead of going through a trade school, you have the opportunity to learn the trade without having to go through all the financial work and all the paperwork,” says the Atlanta native, who had previously worked in warehousing.

Miguel learned about Construction Ready from two relatives, a cousin and an uncle who preceded him at the program’s Westside Works location. He completed his training in December 2017 and immediately went to work as a laborer for Anning-Johnson.

“Miguel worked as a laborer for almost one year, which took a lot of patience and perseverance on his end,” says Construction Ready Employer Engagement Director Edwin Parra, who was Anning-Johnson’s Operations Administrator when Miguel was hired. “He was on a project that had strict security clearances, and his role, even at the entry level, was vital to the success of the project, which made replacing him in that role difficult. Ultimately this resulted in Miguel working the labor position longer than he normally would have.

“Miguel was eventually accepted into [Anning-Johnson’s] in-house training program and he consistently did a good job,” Parra continues. “He learned to walk stilts and found a niche for himself by becoming familiar with the high-demand ceiling installation and stilts skillsets.”

Since then, Miguel says, he’s “done a lot of different things on the job site, whatever they’ve needed me to do. I’ve been in different positions – layout, moving materials, material handling, which is what I’m doing now. I take deliveries for materials and any type of big machinery or equipment that we use.”

Miguel has worked on job sites throughout Atlanta and its suburbs. A Douglasville resident, he’s been spending his time recently on a confidential, multi-year project some 60-plus miles outside the Metro area.

Every one of those assignments, he says, is special, “because they’re all different. I like being crafty with my hands. Being able to say I came in, I built this, or I helped complete this project, is a good feeling.”

Since launching in 2024, Construction Ready Pre-Apprenticeship training has produced hundreds of graduates who happily attest to its value. Word-of-mouth recommendations, such as those Miguel heard from his cousin and uncle, abound. And his voice is part of that chorus of endorsements as well.

“The basics we learned in Construction Ready made us a lot more advanced than someone coming into a construction job with no experience at all,” he says. “All the credentials, the OSHA 10, NCCER, First Aid – all that kind of gave us the upper hand. I would tell anyone to go do it. As long as you stay focused, you can go far.”

Now a seasoned construction veteran, Miguel says the training gave him a foundation on which he’s built all his ensuing knowledge and experience.

“I always look back to it, even though I’m learning new things every day,” he says. “That starting point is always a regular part of what I do.”

In 2020, when Miguel was still relatively new to the industry, Parra saw his potential and offered this assessment: “Miguel can take this opportunity as far as he would like. I see no limits to his future.”

That insight has proved prescient. Miguel has come a long way indeed, and he still has a bright future ahead.