SAN PEDRO — Port of Los Angeles High School or POLAHS has officially launched its skilled trades summer program, now entering its sixth year. The intensive program is funded in part through a generous grant from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, a program of The Smidt Foundation, established by Harbor Freight Tools owner Eric Smidt to advance skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools.
The program provides advanced, hands-on training in construction, plumbing, electrical, and multiple welding disciplines — including pipe, TIG, and stick welding (SMAW). Participation is open only to students who have completed POLAHS’ two-year Career Technical Education or CTE pathways in welding or construction during the school year, ensuring that summer participants are building on a strong technical foundation. This summer’s cohort is already hard at work, filling 84 total program seats across six welding and construction disciplines.
A highlight of this year’s program is a brand-new San Pedro community service project, where construction students partner with downtown San Pedro’s Saigon Oi Cafe on 6th Street. Every Friday throughout the summer, students will be on-site demolishing the existing setup and building a completely new outdoor dining parklet for the local restaurant, gaining invaluable real-world, commercial building experience while giving back to the neighborhood.
Key features and partnerships driving this summer’s program include:
- Dynamic Education Partnership: Classes are taught by industry experts at Dynamic Education, an organization that proudly employs several talented POLAHS alumni as instructors and mentors for the next generation.
- Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Union: Through an updated MOU partnership with the union (formerly known as the Southwest Carpenters), students complete robust pre-apprenticeship training that grants them direct entry into the union’s official apprenticeship program immediately upon high school graduation.
- Earn While They Learn: Students refine their skills and earn daily stipends while training full-time, helping to remove economic barriers to summer
career-technical advancement. - AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles: POLAHS is proud to utilize the cutting-edge facilities at AltaSea as our official summer training ground where advanced welding classes take place.
By the end of the summer, these dedicated builders will walk away with industry-recognized, journeyman-equivalent certifications from the American Welding Society (AWS) or the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).
Families, friends, and community members will gather to celebrate these achievements at the official POLAHS Skilled Trades graduation ceremony in July, marking another year of launching futures in the trades and preparing students for high-demand, high-skill careers that strengthen the local workforce.