Three Career Pathways for Fathers: IT, Skilled Trades, and Auto/EV

Let's be honest: going back to school for a four-year degree isn't realistic for most working fathers. Between family responsibilities, current jobs, and bills that don't pause for anybody, the traditional path can feel closed. That's why Career Forward offers three doors instead of one — each built around skills employers are hiring for right now.

Pathway One: IT & Cybersecurity

The IT pathway starts from zero — no degree, no prior tech job required. Over eight weeks you build toward the Google IT Support Certificate: networks, operating systems, troubleshooting, and security fundamentals. Help desk and IT support roles are the front door to a whole industry, and cybersecurity sits right behind it, with demand that keeps outrunning supply. If you like solving puzzles and you're the person your family already calls when the Wi-Fi acts up, this one's for you.

Pathway Two: Plumbing & Skilled Trades

Here's a fact that doesn't get enough airtime: the trades are facing a generational shortage. Every building in Los Angeles has pipes, and somebody trustworthy has to keep them working. Our trades pathway teaches apprenticeship-ready fundamentals — tools, codes, safety, and the professionalism that gets you hired onto a crew. Trades pay real wages, can't be outsourced to another continent, and put you on a path toward running your own business someday. Legacy, with a pipe wrench.

Pathway Three: Auto & EV Mechanics

Cars are turning into computers on wheels, and the shops that service them need people trained on both. This pathway covers diagnostics and repair on today's vehicles plus the electric-vehicle skills the next generation of garages is actively hiring for. California is going electric fast — the fathers who train on EV systems now will be the senior techs everyone calls in five years.

Which Door Is Yours?

There's no wrong answer, and you don't have to decide alone. Every Father Forward cohort includes leadership coaching, a community of fathers walking the same road, and support for the real-life barriers — childcare, transportation, schedules — that derail good intentions.

Pick a path. Build a legacy. Enroll today — the next cohort has a seat with your name on it.