The program is a partnership among the North Philadelphia nonprofit Esperanza, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology and the Tec Centro Workforce Network. It is designed for people who are unemployed or underemployed and looking for a path to better-paid work. Each of the four training tracks can enroll up to 12 students in a six-month session.

Esperanza’s first cohort started in July and is expected to finish in December. Two students have already received hiring commitments from employers, according to Esperanza executive vice president Rev. Danny Cortés. The program’s leaders are considering evening or weekend classes in the future.

The center occupies more than 14,000 square feet in Esperanza’s building. A former storage area has been converted into welding stations, a computer lab and a drafting room. The $4 million renovation was funded with state money through the Tec Centro Workforce Network. First-year program operations are expected to cost about $2 million, covered by federal, philanthropic and state funding, including support through Philadelphia Works, the city’s workforce development board.

For 32-year-old Andre Rodriguez, a Kensington native, a church flyer introduced him to the program after he had spent years in what he described as a dead-end job. He is studying metals fabrication and welding and hopes to pursue an apprenticeship with Hanwha, the shipbuilder at the Navy Yard. Cortés said Esperanza has discussed the training program with Hanwha, which has expressed interest in hiring workers.

Judith Ghebremichael, 53, is also training in welding after about two decades in social work. She said the work can be emotionally draining and that welding could pay roughly three times what she earned in social work. She commutes from Delaware County and has a job waiting at Philadelphia Pipe Bending Co., which makes the poles SEPTA riders hold onto.

The program was created to connect people seeking family-supporting wages with industries that need workers. Esperanza had wanted to offer trade training but lacked technical expertise, Cortés said. Thaddeus Stevens College, based in Lancaster, brought that expertise to the partnership; its president, Pedro Rivera, said many of the college’s main-campus trade and technology programs are full, with waiting lists for some short-term courses.

Tec Centro CEO Carlos Graupera said public funding is intended to help establish workforce centers and attract additional support. He described the effort as requiring cooperation beyond government alone to help people move from low-wage work into career paths.