|
HBI-Mexico to Develop Spanish-Language Training Material
 |
|
HBI's Michael Sivage, left; David Pressly, 2006 NAHB president; and Netzahualcóyotl Salvatierra López, president, and Daniel Gámez Nieto, of Cámara Mexicana de la Industria de la Construcción (CMIC), sign the agreement to share Spanish-language workforce development educational material. | The Home Builders Institute (HBI) and representatives of the Mexican construction industry agreed last month to develop and share Spanish-language workforce training material in order to meet the educational needs of a growing Mexican workforce in the home building industries of both the U.S. and Mexico.
An estimated 70% of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. work in the home building industry.
Under the agreement, HBI, the workforce development arm of NAHB, will share its Residential Construction Superintendent Designation curriculum materials with Cámara Mexicana de la Industria de la Construcción (CMIC), Mexico’s construction industry chamber, which will adapt and translate the materials into Spanish for NAHB and federation use as well as for the Mexican construction industry.
HBI and CMIC signed the agreement during the recent International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla.
The curriculum teaches superintendents eight core competencies essential to proper and efficient job site management:
- General project management
- Planning and scheduling
- Budget management and cost control
- Customer service and home owner relations
- Safety and security
- Codes and quality control
- Hiring, training and supervision
- Office and subcontractor relations
“This collaboration with the superintendent designation will be a welcome addition to the Home Builders Institute instructional toolbox,” said Michael Sivage, the immediate past chairman of HBI’s board of trustees.
Through the agreement, CMIC and HBI also will explore developing an online toolkit for teaching Spanish-speaking workers curriculum from HBI’s Residential Construction Academy Series.
In addition, HBI will share its self-paced English-as-a-second language learning tool, Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition, with CMIC. Sed de Saber™ — developed to address job site communication and safety challenges presented by the language barrier — teaches Spanish-speaking workers in the home building industry more than 500 words and 340 phrases, providing a functional level of English language conversation and comprehension in an average of four months.
The HBI-CMIC agreement signed last month builds on an earlier agreement signed between NAHB and CMIC in 2006 that set the stage for sharing resources.
For more information, e-mail Rita Feinberg at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8415, or e-mail Steve Kramer at HBI, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8925.
 Home Builders Institute Offers New Program to Teach Hispanic Adults English
Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition is an easy-to-use, take home learning tool created exclusively for the construction industry by the Home Builders Institute to improve communication, quality and safety on the job site. The product, now available at www.seddesaberconstruction.com, uses proven LeapFrog technology to allow workers to listen, record and play back their pronunciation of more than 500 vocabulary words and 340 phrases. Participants who practice 30 minutes each day will complete the program in just four months. Learning at home, on their own time, also eliminates scheduling conflicts.
Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition was developed by a team of subject matter experts assembled through HBI, including superintendents, craft skills experts, remodelers and builders to ensure that the information is relevant to today’s home building workforce. To address worker safety issues related to the language barrier, HBI created a seventh book based entirely on the NAHB-OSHA Job Site Safety Handbook. NAHB members can purchase the learning system, all seven books and a skills assessment to chart employee progress for $395 per kit. The non-member price is $495. Order today and empower your workers to learn English at www.seddesaberconstruction.com.
|
