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HBI Job Corps Students Shadow Industry Mentors on Groundhog Day

On Feb. 2, Groundhog Job Shadow Day, students and instructors enrolled in Home Builders Institute (HBI) programs at Job Corps Centers around the country left their shops and classrooms behind and headed for the job site.

Sponsored by America’s Promise, Junior Achievement and the U.S. Department of Labor, among others, Groundhog Job Shadow Day enables young people to shadow workplace mentors as they go through a day on the job, demonstrating how skills learned in their training are applied in the workplace.

In Washington D.C., students from the Potomac Job Corps Center shadowed the U.S. Department of Labor’s Division of Engineers, headed by Chief Engineer Paul Flick. This was the first time the 10 students visited the Department of Labor, and their shadowing activities took them to basement areas of the building that most guests never see. The students also received a surprise visit from Job Corps National Director Grace Kilbane.

In Tucson, HBI’s plumbing, electrical and facility maintenance trades at the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center “shadowed” industry professionals from Becklin Construction.

Company owners Ed Castelhano and Richard Fink, accompanied by construction manager Clair Klopp and contract manager Kirsten Hoak, each took a group of students through a 6,100-square-foot custom home the company is building. The Craftsman style house sits on three-quarters of an acre in the Tucson Country Club Estates development and will have all the modern amenities.

Alex Jacome of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, where Castelhano has been a member since 1978, thought a visit to the home accompanied by its builders would be a worthwhile Groundhog Job Shadow experience for the students, and it was.

“This was an eye opening experience for all the students. Seeing such a beautiful home being built not only gave them a glimpse into custom home construction, but also what they can personally achieve in life if they set their mind to it,” said John Gallagher, an HBI plumbing instructor and a faculty advisor for the NAHB Student Chapter at the center.

Tim Jackson of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas helped coordinate shadowing opportunities with member builders for HBI students enrolled in Rick Oberlin’s plumbing class at the North Texas Job Corps Center in McKinney. Unfortunately, the outing had to be cancelled, but “plans are underway to reschedule before the month is out”, according to Oberlin, who also serves as faculty advisor of the NAHB Student Chapter at the center.

Meanwhile in Mt. Vernon, Wash., Fabian Rosales, a facilities maintenance graduate from Grady Baker’s class at the Cascades Job Corps Center, mentored one of the program’s current students, Luis Cuidad-Real. Morales, the maintenance supervisor at the Summerglenn Apartments complex, also established a work-based learning internship program for HBI students and will begin serving on the center’s Industry Advisory Council this year.

Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, is the largest vocational trainer in Job Corps, which provides federally funded residential job training and education for at-risk youth who are 16-24 years old. For more information on HBI or its Job Corps programs, e-mail Maria McIntyre, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8912.

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