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Reporter Chronicles Project CRAFT Teen's Transformation
Graduates of Project CRAFT (Community, Restitution, Apprenticeship-Focused Training) in Tampa recently found themselves in the media spotlight in a July 25 article in the St. Petersburg Times by staff writer Thomas Kaplan.
Tiron Wise, the valedictorian of the 10-member graduating class, was interviewed for the story.
“The last place the 18-year-old expected to be Friday was in a cap and gown, about to receive his diploma and head off to college, and with a construction apprentice’s certificate to boot,” writes Kaplan.
Wise is described as a troublemaker who came from a broken home, grew up on the streets and got kicked out of high school in his freshman year for a long list of infractions, but then was able to put his life back on track through the pre-apprenticeship program for at-risk teens run by the Home Builders Institute (HBI).
“I used to think school wasn’t for me,” Wise is quoted. “When I got here, they opened my eyes up.”
Wise, along with his fellow classmates in Project CRAFT, spent months learning to hang drywall at construction sites while also studying for his GED. Wise said he also learned the importance of little things, like having a good handshake and tucking in his shirt.
Wise has a part-time job and is beginning classes at Hillsborough Community College in criminal justice, the first step to becoming a lawyer and eventually a judge.
“We are the future,” he told his fellow graduates. “And we’re going to make it.”
“Since its creation, Project CRAFT has done a great job impacting the lives of young people,” said Bill Paul, HBI’s immediate past chairman.
“All of these students refused to give up when their lives got hard,” Paul said of the graduates. “I tip my hat to every one of them.”
Project CRAFT has graduated more than 200 young people over its five years of operation, and it is now up and running at nine sites.
Project CRAFT has been recognized by members of the U.S. Congress as a model intervention program for adjudicated youths, and its graduates average an 85% job placement rate.
For more information on Project CRAFT, e-mail Dennis Torbett at HBI, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8908.
Home Builders Institute Offers New Program to Teach English to Spanish Speakers
Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition is an easy-to-use, take-home learning tool created by Home Builders Institute (HBI) to improve job site communication, construction quality and safety by teaching English to Spanish-speaking workers, who make up 25% of today’s construction industry workforce.
 Sponsored by Lowe’s Commercial Services, Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition was developed by a team of subject matter experts — including superintendents, craft skills experts, remodelers and builders — to ensure that its contents was relevant to today’s home building workforce. HBI also created a seventh book based entirely on the NAHB-OSHA Job Site Safety Handbook to address job site safety issues related to the language barrier.
 Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition uses proven LeapFrog technology to allow learners 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 about five months. Learning at home, on their own time, also eliminates scheduling conflicts.
NAHB members can purchase the learning system, all seven books and a skills assessment to chart progress for $395 per kit. The non-member price is $495. Order today at www.seddesaberconstruction.com or at www.lowesforpros.com.
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