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Endowment Supports Minority Training Programs in Kentucky
 The Home Builders Association of Northern Kentucky recently began a 16-week pre-apprenticeship program in carpentry for 20 African American students as part of its effort to support skills training for minority students looking to enter the trades.
Through the program, which began on Oct. 15, the students will receive basic carpentry training to prepare them for entry-level careers. They will also receive the tools necessary for start-up on the job, increased access to on-the-job training opportunities, and avenues for permanent job placement through the HBA’s network of regional contractors. The students were chosen from a pool of applicants who, in many cases, lacked the skills and initial financial resources to begin careers in home building.
The National Housing Endowment provided seed money for the Kentucky training program through its Challenge/Build/Grow Matching Grant Initiative. This is the second training program targeting minority students that was initiated by the Kentucky association and supported by the endowment in recent years.
Last year, 18 Hispanic students, including five women, participated in the HBA’s Latino Trades Training Program, a 20-week pre-apprenticeship carpentry program. Eight of the graduates went on to find job placements with association contractors, while others have continued in its Evening Trades Program, a two-year apprenticeship training program with classes two nights a week.
“My fellow trustees and I are very proud of the Challenge/Build/Grow Matching Grant Initiative,” said Gary Garcyznski, chairman of the National Housing Endowment. “This is a great opportunity for the endowment to support the work being done by local and state home builders associations such as the Northern Kentucky home builders association.”
The Challenge/Build/Grow Initiative was started by the endowment’s board of trustees to promote NAHB’s highest priority areas of land use, worker training and education.
To date, more than $80,000 has been awarded to local and state home builders associations across the country to implement partnerships in their communities that address these issues. Each year, the endowment distributes $20,000 to worthy programs, but because of the increased popularity of the Challenge/Build/Grow Initiative, the trustees have approved an additional $40,000 for the initiative.
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