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Graduating Class for Women Trainees Biggest Ever
In its third and largest commencement ceremony since it opened in November of 2006, Home Builders Institute's (HBI) Project TRADE (Training, Restitution, Apprenticeship, Development, Education) program in St. Petersburg, Fla. recently presented 14 graduates with Pre-Apprenticeship Training (PACT) certificates.
Operated in partnership with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Project TRADE/St. Petersburg is exclusively dedicated to training adjudicated women.
Following completion of 12 to 16 weeks of skills training, graduates receive the PACT certificate indicating that they are proficient in entry-level building skills for employment in the housing industry. They also receive job placement assistance.
Three of the students participating in the ceremony completed the program earlier in the year and are already working in home building jobs.
“This was one of the more emotional graduation events I have attended,” said HBI's immediate past chairman and Florida builder Bill Paul. “The graduates who spoke shared heart-wrenching stories and it’s a testament to their perseverance that they are working to turn their lives around.”
Many of the women specifically thanked Florida Circuit Court Judge Frank Quesada for referring them to the program. Judge Quesada has been a strong advocate of Project TRADE and accompanied the HBI trustees on their visit to the program at the Pinnellas County Jail during last year's planning retreat in St. Petersburg.
Initiated in 1995, Project TRADE has placed 80% of its graduates in industry jobs. Students who have completed the program have had a recidivism rate of 7.8%, about half the national average.
In addition to St. Petersburg, HBI currently offers Project TRADE programs in Colorado Springs, Colo. in partnership with ComCor and at the Sheridan Correctional Center in Sheridan, Ill.
For more information on Project TRADE, e-mail Dennis Torbett at HBI, or call him at 800-795-7955 x8908.
 Home Builders Institute Offers New Program to Teach English to Spanish Speakers
Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition is an easy-to-use, take-home learning tool created by Home Builders Institute (HBI) to improve job site communication, construction quality and safety by teaching English to Spanish-speaking workers, who make up 25% of today’s construction industry workforce.
 Sponsored by Lowe’s Commercial Services, Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition was developed by a team of subject matter experts — including superintendents, craft skills experts, remodelers and builders — to ensure that its contents was relevant to today’s home building workforce. HBI also created a seventh book based entirely on the NAHB-OSHA Job Site Safety Handbook to address job site safety issues related to the language barrier.
 Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition uses proven LeapFrog technology to allow learners to listen, record and play back their pronunciation of more than 500 vocabulary words and 340 phrases. Participants who practice 30 minutes each day will complete the program in about five months. Learning at home, on their own time, also eliminates scheduling conflicts.
NAHB members can purchase the learning system, all seven books and a skills assessment to chart progress for $395 per kit. The non-member price is $495. Order today at www.seddesaberconstruction.com or at www.lowesforpros.com.
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