Project TRADE to Provide Skills Training at Illinois Correctional Center
Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, recently signed a five-year contract with the Illinois Department of Corrections to train 180 students annually at the Sheridan Correctional Center (SCC) through its Project TRADE (Training, Restitution, Apprenticeship, Development and Employment) program.
HBI and Project TRADE were sought out by SCC Warden Michael Rothwell. While working in Idaho’s Corrections Department, Rothwell learned of the institute’s national reputation as a provider of job training and placement services for court-involved youths (Project CRAFT) and adults, and he inquired about bringing the program to the SCC shortly after taking over its management.
Three HBI instructors will teach carpentry, facilities maintenance and electrical wiring at the center, supervised by a project coordinator. Hands-on training projects will consist of campus-based activities to improve the facility as well as a myriad of community-based projects with local organizations and municipalities. Already in the wings is a joint effort by HBI with Lutheran Social Services and Habitat for Humanity to build home components at the correctional center that can be shipped to Habitat sites across the state.