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PHA Opens New Modern Training Center to Prepare More Public
Housing Residents for Jobs in the Building Trades
PHILADELPHIA, PA (September 7, 2004) -
Philadelphia Housing Authority residents enrolled in the agencys
Pre-Apprenticeship Program now have a beautiful, modern facility to
learn their new craft. With program graduates and an audience of
more than 200 looking on, PHA Executive Director Carl Greene cut
the ribbon on the agencys new Work Force Development Center,
located on Vare Avenue at the new Greater Grays Ferry Estates.
"TAs successful as this program has been in
sending well trained minority men and women into the union
workforce, this new center will enable PHA to help even more,
particularly with our new Youth Build component," saidGreene.
Youth Build is a special add-on that allows
applicants ages 17-24 who do not have a high school diploma or GED
to get extra training, earn a diploma and qualify for the
Pre-Apprenticeship course. (A diploma or GED is a requirement for
the program.)
Since its inception in 1999, nearly 350 PHA
residents have graduated from the 21-week program, with the great
majority of the graduates going on to full time jobs. Many
graduates serve their apprenticeships working with construction
companies at PHA developments, and there are plenty of those to
choose from. PHA is in the midst of a billion-dollar overhaul of
its properties.
Students are paid minimum wage during the
six-month training program taught by masters of the building
trades. They then earn 40% of a journeymans hourly pay rate during
their apprenticeship, which takes six months. When students
complete the PHA program they are on their way to a life-long
career in a highly skilled industry earning a good living. Funding
for the program comes from several sources including the
Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation and the U.S
Department of Labor. George Johnson, director of the
Pre-Apprenticeship program said the new facility expands the scope
of hands-on training. "Better power equipment for carpenters will
allow us to take this program to the next level. For example, we
can now build furniture and three-story structures," said
Johnson.
Carl Greene said the Pre-Apprenticeship program
is part of PHAs commitment to all generations, from pre-school
programs to educational programs for teenagers to an array of
senior programs. He also praised the wonderfully cooperative
relationship PHA enjoys with the building trades. "We are
rebuilding Philadelphia with the efforts of these tremendous union
men and women, " Greene said. Six program graduates returned to
help commemorate the opening of the new center; carpenter Kevin
Dawkins, electrician Marlon Williams, drywall finisher Lisa Reese,
sheet metal worker Elizabeth Williams 3rd, ship builder Olusegen
Fakanlsun and painter Tamika Preston, who now owns her own painting
business.
The placement of two Pre-Apprenticeship
graduates at the Kvaerner Ship Yard marked a first for the program,
an indication of how well regarded graduates have become. Ed
Coryell, Secretary-Treasurer of the Carpenters Union provided the
keynote address at the dedication. The Carpenters have accepted
more Pre-Apprenticeship graduates than any other union, an easy
decision according to Coryell, "considering the quality worker the
program produces."
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