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HBI and Pinellas County Sheriff Team Up to Train Women
 Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, has joined forces with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office to bring its Project TRADE (Training, Restitution, Apprenticeship, Development, Employment) program to female offenders incarcerated in the Pinellas County Jail in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Over the coming year, 40 women will learn industry-sponsored skills from HBI and “Project Success,” a life skills program currently offered at the facility. This will be the first time that HBI has worked directly with a law enforcement agency and represents a first for both the institute and the sheriff’s office in providing trades training to women in jail. The program begins on Nov. 1.
Following a 12- to16-week period for learning the skills, successful graduates will receive HBI’s Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training (PACT) certificate, indicating that they are proficient in entry-level building skills for employment in the industry. They will also receive job placement assistance.
HBI Vice Chairman Bill Paul, president of Phoenix Construction and Development Company, has worked closely with Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats to ensure that the new program receives the funding and support it needs to operate effectively.
“This is the first time we have gone behind the fence to help women acquire some real hands-on skills that can give them a viable option for a better life once they go back home,” said Paul. “There is an enormous need for trades skills in this area and this could be the unexpected opportunity to enter a career never even considered.”
Project TRADE began in 1995 and places 80% of its graduates in industry jobs. Over the past 11 years, students who complete the program have a recidivism rate of 7.8%, nearly 8% below the national average.
“We are looking forward to this effort,” said Sheriff Coats. “We have seen the results this HBI program has had working with male offenders over the years, and we are eager to see it succeed with the court-involved women here at the Pinellas County Jail.”
In addition to St. Petersburg, HBI currently offers Project TRADE programs in Colorado Springs, Colo. in partnership with ComCor; at the Sheridan Correctional Center in Sheridan, Ill.; and in partnership with the Phoenix House in Ocala, Fla.
For more information on Project TRADE, e-mail Dennis Torbett at HBI, or call him at 800-795-7955 x8908.
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