The newest class of Operation Exit, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s intensive career preparation program for at-risk young adults, has achieved a high-water mark of success for the program.

On Wednesday evening, Mayor Martin J. Walsh planned to join representatives of the building trades community to congratulate the newest graduates of Operation Exit at a celebratory dinner at Sheet Metal Workers Local Union #17 in Dorchester. In addition to Mayor Walsh, other speakers will include Daniel Mulhern, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety, and Brian Doherty, General Agent of the Building & Construction Trades Council.

The participants – all young men of color with some history of court involvement – achieved a 100 percent graduation rate. Of the 19 graduates, 17 have secured union apprenticeships in the building trades at starting wages of $19-24 per hour. Robert K. Kraft, Chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group and New England Patriots, provided the funding for this class of Operation Exit.

Over half of the Operation Exit graduates, whose average age is 24, shoulder parenting responsibilities. Most reside in Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, or the lower South End.