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HBI Steps Up Assistance to YouthBuild Programs
Home Builders Institute (HBI), the educational arm of NAHB, will provide industry-sponsored vocational training in residential construction at four additional YouthBuild sites in the upcoming fiscal year, according to an announcement last month.
YouthBuild said it will be operating 108 programs with $66.5 million in traditional funding and an additional 75 programs with more than $47 million in support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
HBI currently operates one training program with Youth Build in Sioux City, Iowa. However, through a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development it has provided technical assistance to Youth Build programs across the country since 2006.
HBI’s new YouthBuild programs will be located in Tampa, Fla., in partnership with the Tampa Housing Authority; Lewisburg, Pa., with the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation; Bridgeport, Conn., with The WorkPlace, Inc.; and West Burlington, Iowa, with Southeastern Community College.
The scope of HBI’s technical assistance to YouthBuild has increased significantly over the past three years. There are now 67 YouthBuild programs employing staff designated to teach HBI’s Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training (PACT) curriculum.
Like NAHB and HBI, YouthBuild is incorporating green building practices, in line with National Green Building Standard, into its training curriculum. Three YouthBuild employees recently met at HBI with green subject matter experts from across the country — including HBI Chairman M.M. “Mike” Weiss — to discuss “greening” all HBI training curricula, including the PACT.
Participating on June 10 in the group’s week-long deliberations were NAHB First Vice Chairman Bob Jones and Chris Nichols from the Department of Labor’s Office of Youth Services.
“HBI continues to work towards greening all of its training curricula, including the Job Corps, Workforce Training and Employment (WTE) and Residential Construction Academy (RCA) programs,” said Weiss. “We are proud to have so many experts in the green field invested in HBI training. The outcomes of this meeting will provide great benefits to HBI students in YouthBuild, as well as all of our programs nationwide.”
For more information on YouthBuild, e-mail Steve Cousins or call him at 800-795-7955 x8939.
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