Raymond Barley keeps a notebook where he writes his goals down—and at just 20 years old, he already has a lot of items checked off his list. He is a first-year apprentice with the carpenters union and works as a foreman on a construction site. Just a few years ago, though, his life looked very different.
At the age of 14, Raymond struggled with drug addiction. He says he made a lot of bad decisions early in his life; but after an emotional encounter with his grandmother, he asked a police officer for help. The officer took him to a rehabilitation center. After six months, he was able to leave the center and has been clean ever since. Unfortunately, though, his parents had kicked him out of the house, and he found himself living at a homeless shelter. It was there that he learned about the Job Corps program.
For a teenager without a lot of other options, it didn’t take much thought to give it a try. He enrolled at Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center in Grand Rapids, Mich., with the intent to study Culinary Arts. But during a campus tour, he heard a sound that would change his life: a chop saw whirring in the construction building.
“As soon as I heard that sound, that instantly drew me into the carpentry industry,” Raymond said. “That one sound just clicked in my mind that I want to do this for the rest of my life.”
He took to carpentry readily and learned everything he needed to know, from how to read a tape measure and swing a hammer to how to get into the union. Job Corps also taught him other important job skills, like how to build a resume, how to dress appropriately, how to find a job and even how to file his taxes.
One of the most valuable things Raymond learned from his time on campus, though, was how to be a leader.
“When I first came to Job Corps, I was such a handful,” he said. “I have so much respect for the teachers because I was a little 17-year-old who thought he knew everything. But I started learning … and they showed me what a good leader looked like.”
Through guidance and examples from Job Corps staff, Raymond became a leader and role model in his own right. While on campus, he served as president of the Student Government Association, dorm leader, dorm captain and a residential advisor. He also won the Forrest Arthur Pletcher Award for excellence in the Carpentry training area.
Since graduating, Raymond relocated to West Virginia and has officially joined the carpenters union. He currently works as the foreman on a scaffolding site at the John E. Amos Power Plant. While he doesn’t have contact with his adoptive parents anymore, he has a relationship with his birth parents now. He also recently bought his first home—a two-story build with a balcony that he’ll share with his fiancée.
So, what’s next on Raymond’s list? Getting married, he says, then continuing to build up his career in the union. He hopes to own his own business one day, then retire early so he can enjoy his life. His advice to other young people in situations like his is simple: Don’t let setbacks get in your way. He also highly recommends Job Corps to anyone considering the program and says he wouldn’t be where he is today without it.
“When I first got there, I was a troubled kid,” Raymond said. “Everyone thought I was going to be kicked out; but when you show a little bit of time to a troubled student, it comes a long way. Look at me now.”
Graduated from Job Corps in: 2021 Employer: John E. Amos Power Plant; United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 439 Hometown: St. Albans, West Virginia Phone: 304-932-3928 Submitted by: Hannah Purdy Notes:
Salary: $18.02/hour