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Project CRAFT Hammers Away at Southeast Building Show
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Former HBI Chairman Tom Woods, left; NAHB Immediate Past Chairman and HBI oversight officer Sandy Dunn, center; and HBI trustee Bill Paul, right, in front of HBI's SEBC booth. | Students from the Home Builders Institute's (HBI) Avon Park and Orlando Project CRAFT (Community, Restitution, Apprenticeship Focused Training) programs had the opportunity last month to showcase their trade skills at the 2009 Southeast Building Conference (SEBC) in Orlando.
Students joined with HBI instructors and staff to build the HBI booth at the conference, where they demonstrated their expertise in residential construction over the course of SEBC and hosted a competition in which show attendees tested their nail driving skills.
Since it began operating in Florida in 1994, Project CRAFT has provided thousands of skilled pre-apprentice employees to builders and NAHB members in the state.
“SEBC, like the International Builders’ Show, is a great way for builders and industry members to interact with HBI students, and once again our students were very impressive,” said HBI Trustee and Florida builder Bill Paul.
All of HBI’s Project CRAFT programs use the industry-sponsored Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training curriculum. The PACT curriculum uses hands-on training methods and requires students to perform significant amounts of on-site community service before earning their certificate. Project CRAFT students in Florida contribute approximately 30,000 hours of labor annually to local projects.
Project CRAFT’s community service track record has earned the program high praise from state and local officials.
Several prominent NAHB members stopped by the booth to talk with HBI students and learn more about the program — including NAHB First Vice Chairman Bob Jones, Immediate Past Chairman and HBI’s oversight officer Sandy Dunn, former HBI Chairman Tom Woods and Paul.
“For most Project CRAFT students, SEBC is their first exposure to just how big our industry is,” said Paul. “Students got to walk around and check out the exhibits, getting a feel for the different careers they might one day enter.”
Project CRAFT trains more than 500 youths annually in Florida; more than 90% of its graduates find placement in industry jobs, the military or school.
Florida Project CRAFT sites at Avon Park, Red Road, Dozier, Orlando and Tampa were recently renewed by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. They will operate under $2.2 million annual grants from the department through 2011.
For more information on Project CRAFT, e-mail Dennis Torbett at HBI, or call him at 800-795-7955 x8908.
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