NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Naim Mohammed smiled and mused how much life can change in 12 weeks.

In that short time, he’s become a certified project manager with sharpened skills in everything from carpentry and electrical work, to job interview preparation and financial literacy.

His next step is to serve a six-month apprenticeship, then go to work in a field where opportunities are plentiful in New Brunswick and beyond.

Through the New Brunswick Train-to-Hire Program, the Highland Park resident and the other 12 members of the graduating class are ready to embark on a bright future in any number of positions within the construction field.

“I’m so thankful for this program,” Mohammed said Tuesday at a graduation ceremony held on the Arthur Laurentis Theater stage at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. “I was working in carpentry, but there was no work, especially when the pandemic hit. I was fighting these charges I was dealing with. I’m on probation right now, and it’s hard to get a job with the background that I have. I was behind on rent and fines and everything in life was just going backward.”