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Job Corps Skills Blossom at Minot Home and Garden Show
The annual Home and Garden Show of the Minot Association of Builders recently provided an opportunity for Home Builders Institute (HBI) instructor Mike Frank and his facilities maintenance students at Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center in Minot, N.D. to get out of the classroom and showcase their construction talents.
Community service and onsite training are key components of HBI’s Job Corps curriculum.
A redwood rocker and a three-way bench built by the students were auctioned off at the show for a total of $1,500, which was contributed to the Souris Valley Humane Society. The bench also received a “Best in Show” prize for the quality of its craftsmanship.
The Job Corps student volunteers helped prepare for the show by unloading carpeting and working with association members to set up booths. Once the show opened, they helped check people in at the entrance and handed out flyers.
“It’s wonderful that these Job Corps students were able to work closely with the Minot Association of Builders. Community service is a big part of the education process at Job Corps and local HBAs always have projects where they can use a few sets of skilled hands,” said HBI Chairman John Moffitt. “MBA and Quentin Burdick are a great example of how these two organizations can help each other and we hope other HBAs and Job Corps Centers will follow their lead.”
Once the show was in full swing, students were able to take a break from their duties to have a little fun and put their belt sander to the test on a 48-foot race track they had built with the Union Carpentry Shop. Their sander raced well and came in second.
At the show’s conclusion, students participated in the tear-down process, logging in more than 400 hours of service on behalf of the Minot builders.
“Mike and his students provided valuable assistance and I received many compliments from exhibitors regarding their work,” said Vicky Flagstad, the association’s executive officer. “Mike is doing a great job of showing them the rewards of community service, and we are proud that a portion of our membership dues helps to fund Mike’s program.”
For more information on HBI’s Job Corps programs, e-mail Keith Albright or Maria McIntyre at HBI, or call them at 800-795-7955 x8911 and x8912, respectively.
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.
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