The ROC
Forging a Path to Good Jobs for Young People
The ROC was established in 2019 and offers three different programs for students to help them secure good jobs with wages that can sustain a family.
The ROC – Rebuilding Opportunities in Construction – is on a mission to help young people get on a career track that will lead to a bright future. The ROC is a nonprofit, two-year pathway for high school juniors. The goal is to provide technical construction skills and job readiness training, mentorships, paid apprenticeships, and permanent job placement for students attending high schools in under-served areas of Mecklenburg County.
“I started the ROC seven years ago and what I appreciate most is that we are starting early in a teenager’s life to get them on a good track for their future” says Darren Ash, who serves as full-time executive director at no salary. He previously established two other nonprofits – Charlotte Family Housing and Common Wealth Charlotte.
The ROC works with six high schools – West Mecklenburg, Harding, West Charlotte, Berry, Chamber, and Garinger. By integrating the ROC pathway directly into these schools, students feel they are on a new, exciting path that caters to active learners. Currently, the ROC has over 200 students enrolled. Ninety-seven percent of participants are minorities and 25 percent are female.
Darren Ash
Construction skills training provides in-depth hands-on instruction in carpentry, construction, electrical, and HVAC technology.
The ROC has three direct program services for students:
- Construction Skills Training: The ROC provides detailed training in electrical and HVAC technology, carpentry, and construction management.
- Job Readiness Training: The ROC offers deep soft skills training to enable students to handle conflict, work as a team, and stay focused by incorporating the latest behavioral sciences curriculum.
- Summer Apprenticeships/Permanent Job Placements: The ROC is an innovative workforce development solution for the construction industry. Students are placed at age 17 in summer internships which later lead to apprenticeships and full-time employment after high school graduation.
“While our students obtain college credentials, industry certificates, and job readiness training, the ROC’s real measure of success is our student’s full-time employment with great companies on a pathway towards family-sustaining wages,” Darren says. “It’s not just what we teach and what we do as an organization; our ultimate goal is for our students to be making $50,000 a year before they turn 21. We are hitting that goal two out of three students at a time.”
“In 2024, the ROC served 147 students who completed 683 college and/or industry certification construction classes. The ROC had 82 graduating seniors with a graduation rate of 98.7 percent. During the summer of 2024, the ROC placed 57 students in the construction field as interns or apprentices.
Darren connected with TowneBank after his accountant recommended that he meet with Stephen Heeseman, executive vice president and Myers Park executive. “After meeting with Stephen and developing a relationship with him, I knew TowneBank would be a great place for our banking needs.”
For more information, visit ROCCharlotte.org.
The ROC works with Charlotte area high schools to train young people so they can obtain full-time employment after graduation. Twenty-five percent of ROC participants are female.