In Tucson, HBI’s plumbing, electrical and facility maintenance trades at the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center “shadowed” industry professionals from Becklin Construction.
Company owners Ed Castelhano and Richard Fink, accompanied by construction manager Clair Klopp and contract manager Kirsten Hoak, each took a group of students through a 6,100-square-foot custom home the company is building. The Craftsman style house sits on three-quarters of an acre in the Tucson Country Club Estates development and will have all the modern amenities.
Alex Jacome of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, where Castelhano has been a member since 1978, thought a visit to the home accompanied by its builders would be a worthwhile Groundhog Job Shadow experience for the students, and it was.
“This was an eye opening experience for all the students. Seeing such a beautiful home being built not only gave them a glimpse into custom home construction, but also what they can personally achieve in life if they set their mind to it,” said John Gallagher, an HBI plumbing instructor and a faculty advisor for the NAHB Student Chapter at the center.
Tim Jackson of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas helped coordinate shadowing opportunities with member builders for HBI students enrolled in Rick Oberlin’s plumbing class at the North Texas Job Corps Center in McKinney. Unfortunately, the outing had to be cancelled, but “plans are underway to reschedule before the month is out”, according to Oberlin, who also serves as faculty advisor of the NAHB Student Chapter at the center.
Meanwhile in Mt. Vernon, Wash., Fabian Rosales, a facilities maintenance graduate from Grady Baker’s class at the Cascades Job Corps Center, mentored one of the program’s current students, Luis Cuidad-Real. Morales, the maintenance supervisor at the Summerglenn Apartments complex, also established a work-based learning internship program for HBI students and will begin serving on the center’s Industry Advisory Council this year.
Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, is the largest vocational trainer in Job Corps, which provides federally funded residential job training and education for at-risk youth who are 16-24 years old. For more information on HBI or its Job Corps programs, e-mail Maria McIntyre, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8912.
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