01Overview
The Fresno Economic Development Corporation commissioned WERZ to produce three program introduction videos: the Central Valley Training Center (CVTC), the Veterans Assistance Center (VAC), and a workforce development piece for their commercial truck driving program. Each video was used for public outreach, grant reporting, and stakeholder presentations.
02About the Client
Fresno County's public-private economic development corporation. Won the nation's largest Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant ($65.1M), attracted 500+ semiconductor jobs to the region, and has driven $650M+ in investment through the Fresno DRIVE initiative. Central node of the Central Valley business ecosystem.
03Production Breakdown
Interview-led workforce program film combining instructor and partner testimonials with hands-on training footage to explain how the Central Valley Training Center prepares participants for real trade work.
Named lower-thirds, warehouse classroom coverage, masonry and drywall practice, and shop-floor wide shots make the program feel practical, credible, and mission-driven rather than generic civic content.
Profile-led audio for Fresno EDC centered on a featured speaker introducing their role, perspective, and trust-building context. The CVTC program is similar to a pre-apprenticeship program. It's a 12-week program that introduces residents and citizens of Fresno County and others to the trades. Hi my name is Oliver Baines. I am the founder of the Valley Apprenticeship Connections program.
Deliverables
- program intro film
- recruitment video
- partner-facing explainer
- workforce development case study
Production
- interview direction
- lower-third graphics
- educational documentary coverage
- industrial b-roll
- mission-driven editorial
- public-benefit storytelling
Visual Style
- named lower-thirds
- safety vests
- warehouse classroom
- masonry blocks
- drywall finishing
- training floor wide shots
Why It Works
- Shows WERZ can explain a public-benefit training program with clarity and credible visual detail.
- Demonstrates balance between interview soundbites and hands-on skills coverage.
- Useful proof for education, workforce, nonprofit, and government-adjacent pitches.
Featured Voices
Chuck Rojas
CVTC director featured as a primary program voice.
Oliver Baines
Program partner speaking to value and impact.
Lee Ann Eager
EDC leader framing the broader workforce context.
Key Shots
Shot 1 · program identity opener
The film opens with clear program branding and a named interview to establish legitimacy before the shop-floor work begins.
Shot 2 · classroom and cohort beat
Wide training-room coverage shows the program as a real operational environment with instructors and participants in session.
Shot 3 · partner interview beat
Additional named interviews widen the frame from one spokesperson to a broader coalition around the program.
Shot 4 · hands-on skills coverage
Close process shots of masonry and finishing work make the training tangible and pitch-useful.
Shot 5 · facility-wide proof beat
The middle of the piece expands back out to show scale, repetition, and multiple active learners in the same environment.
Shot 6 · impact resolve
The close leaves the viewer with a practical sense of readiness, partnership, and real-world workforce outcomes.
Audio / Dialogue
The CVTC program is similar to a pre-apprenticeship program. It's a 12-week program that introduces residents and citizens of Fresno County and others to the trades. Hi my name is Oliver Baines. I am the founder of the Valley Apprenticeship Connections program.
On-Screen Text
+Full Transcript
The CVTC program is similar to a pre-apprenticeship program. It's a 12-week program that introduces residents and citizens of Fresno County and others to the trades. Hi my name is Oliver Baines. I am the founder of the Valley Apprenticeship Connections program. And Oliver and I have been dreaming this dream for at least 10 years of what this is going to look like and we started by understanding that high-speed rail was coming to the Central Valley certainly to Fresno County and were we gonna have enough people to be able to work on this system and then as we looked at that we said okay it's not just about transportation there's construction projects going on all over the Central Valley and how is it that we can make sure that the people who need those jobs the most get trained for them. That's that's exactly it Leanne I mean we were very worried at the time that as this great project in high-speed rail was going to happen transportation project to be sure but that the opportunity for employment was going to you know miss us and we wanted to ensure that our folks that live right here in the Central Valley right here in Fresno where the project was starting would make would have an opportunity to participate in all of the employment opportunities that were going to come out of that. It's something I've never tried and so I thought I'd give it a shot and I'm really glad that I did. So my favorite part of this class is honestly just the physical hands-on experience that we get it is going to prepare us better for job site we do get to build most of the classroom that we get taught in so that's pretty neat to me. My favorite part of this program is the hands-on it's very exciting and just to know that you built something is it make you feel really good about yourself and the trainer is very nice and they help you through everything and they don't make you feel uncomfortable he's there to teach you and that is what he did. And we were just talking to those students right here yeah about what the future looks like and you know the state of California is going to be moving to zero emission vehicles in the next 10 years and what all of those opportunities are for them when we look at whether it's electric or hydrogen that these students are going to have that background to be able to move into those fields. Everybody who wants to work should have the opportunity to do so.
