Capco Steel employee Rafael Fernandez, of East Providence, welds steel destined for the Blue Cross building being built in Providence.

The Providence Journal / Andrew Dickerman

PROVIDENCE — Michael Caparco Sr. pointed to several huge steel beams lying side by side in the long bays of his Capco Steel complex.

“What you see here is Blue Cross,” he said, referring to the health insurer’s new headquarters building under construction downtown. “It doesn’t get much better than that!”

Capco Steel is often touted as a model example of a Providence industrial company. Founded in 1990, with its headquarters and 270,000-square-foot plant on Acorn Street in the Valley neighborhood, the steel-fabrication company employs 200 workers locally and roughly 500 more at construction sites nationwide. Capco has recently been cutting steel for New York’s new Yankee Stadium, as well as the replacement for the New York Mets’ Shea Stadium.

Caparco, Capco’s CEO, said the company has sometimes had problems finding qualified, committed laborers for what can be tough jobs welding steel and handling hazardous materials.

“This is a trade that’s been very difficult to get people to work,” Caparco said.

Now Providence is getting involved, and the city is partnering with Capco to funnel workers to the company for a six-month apprenticeship, using the city’s First Source hiring list. Providence will pay half the employees’ salaries during the apprenticeship.

The First Source ordinance requires employers who benefit from certain city subsidies and tax breaks or hold a city-financed construction contract to give hiring preference to job-seeking local residents on a list maintained by the city.

Under First Source, employers must agree to recruit and hire residents from a list provided and maintained by the Department of Planning and Development. If employers cannot find qualified employees on the list, they may seek workers from other sources with the permission of the Planning Department.

Since the program began in earnest two years ago, 256 city residents associated with First Source have been hired from the list. There are approximately 2,000 residents still on the list, according to Stephen Vadnais of the Planning Department.

The Capco program will start with six apprentices for this six-month period. But Caparco hopes to bring in a total of 50 new workers through the program over the next two years.

The Capco program will teach welding techniques, fork-lift operation, safety training, studies of structural steel and fabrication techniques, and a surprising amount of math as the apprentices learn to read blueprints

“Capco Steel’s success depends upon access to a pool of well-trained, dedicated workers from the community,” Caparco said.

The apprentices will earn $10 per hour under the program. The city will pay half that salary. Participants will receive full health insurance — Blue Cross, of course, through Capco — after 30 days.

If they complete the program, they will be hired full-time, and in jobs averaging $18 an hour and going as high as $25. They will begin as shop iron workers. The applicants must be at least 18 years old and have a minimum proficiency in seventh grade reading and math.

dbarbari@projo.com