May 3, 2010
Nation's Building News

The Official Online Newspaper of NAHB

FONT SIZE:  A  A  A
Home Builders Institute
HBI Returns to Hurricane-Battered Gulfport Job Corps Center

Home Builders Institute (HBI) on April 29 announced the reopening of its electrical wiring program at the Gulfport Job Corps Center. Closed since the area was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the center provides Job Corps skills training and job placement counseling to youths ages 16 to 24.

HBI electrical students learn wiring skills through hands-on instruction and curriculum developed by experts in the home building industry. Students gain added experience by working on actual job sites, participating in local community service projects and assisting with construction projects at the center. HBI staff members help graduating students secure employment in the industry as apprentices and electrician helpers.

Once additional facilities at the Gulfport Job Corps Center are completed, HBI will reinstitute the same programs that existed prior to Hurricane Katrina — in carpentry, plumbing and facilities maintenance — and initiate a new program in brick masonry.

“The re-opening of the Gulfport Center is another encouraging sign of the progress being made in this region,” said Fred Humphreys, HBI’s president and chief executive officer. "These programs will prepare young people from Gulfport and southern Mississippi with the advanced job skills and training they need for careers in the home building industry.”

A reopening celebration will take place on Wednesday, May 5, at 10:00 a.m., at the Gulfport Job Corps Center located at 3300 20th Street in Gulfport.

Students interested in the HBI program can contact the Gulfport Job Corps Center at 228-863-1141.

For more information, e- mail Nathan Kelly at HBI, or call him at 800-795-7955 x8936.

Also in This Issue