YouthBuild Boston is honored to have our first female Facilities Maintenance Apprentice – Rosemarie Powell-Thompson!

Rosemarie Powell-Thompson is a Dorchester native. She attended Lincoln Sudbury through the METCO program and built a career as an established Beautician and Cosmetologist owning salons in Boston and Brockton. As with so many businesses and organizations, COVID-19 impacted Rosemarie tremendously. Being a mother and homeowner, she began to look for promising opportunities. Rosemarie started volunteering at Oasis On Ballou – an urban agriculture project that helps bring access to fresh produce for surrounding communities – to promote a healthy lifestyle, improve the lives of residents and create a safe space for children to learn and grow.

This experience also provided Rosemarie with the opportunity to take a Stormwater Resource Management course through Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corportation. As a homeowner, she found the field to be extremely interesting and considered exploring Facilities and learned about YouthBuild Boston’s Facilities Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship Program.

Rosemarie joined ten other students, as the first-ever female, in November as part of the Facilities Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship Program’s third cohort. This program, for individuals 18 years of age and older, is the only registered apprenticeship program for Facilities Maintenance Technicians in Massachusetts. Consisting of classroom instruction and on-the-job training, the apprenticeship provides students with a clear ladder of upward mobility in the field of Facilities Maintenance. Each student is employed full-time with an employee sponsor such as Winn Residential and Peabody Property. Students will receive on-the-job training in basic plumbing, electrical, mechanical, cleaning, preventative maintenance, pest management, landscaping, and occupational health and safety. They are also required to complete 4 courses (8 credits) at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Facilities Maintenance.

Rosemarie is currently working with Peabody Property and in the past four months has learned how to dissemble and replace heating baseboards; dismantle and troubleshoot garbage disposals; plaster; master the art of painting; line and cut blinds; and install locks. She is learning quickly and is happy to be working at a property in the Center of Dorchester helping current residents and preparing housing units for future residents.

YouthBuild Boston is proud to be part of Rosemarie’s journey as the first female Facilities Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship student. We can’t wait to see her excel in the industry!