A training program for low-income young adults provides new opportunities for furthering educational skills while learning more about the construction industry.
Recently, 12 students of the Grand Rapids YouthBuild program had the chance to tour two Pioneer Construction sites at Grand Valley State University. The students visited the L. William Seidman Center and the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons on Dec. 14 and after a debriefing in the job trailer, they were able to speak to the workers on site and ask questions about their jobs.
Pioneer Construction Marketing Coordinator Alyssa Veneklase says her company has taken YouthBuild students on other tours in the past and they will continue doing so. The idea is to show the students how many different job opportunities there are on large construction sites.
“The possibilities are endless and we want to open their minds,” she says. “Many of the YouthBuild students think they have few job options open to them until they see what’s available in the construction industry.”
Veneklase adds that when the students learn the cost of these projects, “that blows their mind, too.”
YouthBuild is a 40-week leadership program that offers low-income young adults, ages 18-24, the opportunity to improve their education while learning construction skills at the same time.
This Habitat for Humanity program began in 1978 and now has more than 270 groups throughout the U.S. and elsewhere. The Grand Rapids YouthBuild program is only in its second year and they’ve enrolled 62 young adults so far. Last June, 22 students graduated from the first local group.
In order to graduate, students must have made progress with their educational goals -- whether that’s earning their GED, improving math and reading skills, or obtaining the Home Builders Institute Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (PACT) certification -- and they have to help build a Habitat for Humanity house.
Grand Rapids YouthBuild partners with Bethany Christian Services for case management services and the U.S. Department of Labor, which provides the funding through its Workforce Development program. The goal is for the students to find employment after the program or be able to enroll in a vocational or secondary education program.
The program is free to low-income young adults. Many of the participants have dropped out of high school and some have criminal records. YouthBuild is also geared toward young adults coming out of the foster care system, those with incarcerated parents, refugees and migrants, women, and veterans.
To be selected for the YouthBuild program, students have to spend a few weeks in an intense “boot camp” style training session. During this two-week period in August, participants go through physical, team-building, academic, and construction-related exercises.
The staff also interviews each person individually and not everyone makes it into the program. Youth Build Director Amber Fox says the goal is to shake the students up a bit and teach them to keep going.
“They have to get rid of their old identities so they can build a new identity in the YouthBuild program,” she says.
Once selected, students participate in the program all day, Monday through Thursday, from September through May. Fridays are an optional fun day where students get to go on field trips like those sponsored by Pioneer Construction, or they may go to driver’s training classes or the YMCA to work out.
Everyone is given a stipend so they can afford to stay in the program. This is also used as a teaching tool and money is deducted for negative behavior such as not wearing a uniform or showing up late.
The time in the YouthBuild program is split between educational training and practicing construction skills. Students learn employability skills as well, such as how to write a resume, interviewing, computer training, and more. They are also taught life skills such as money management, parenting skills, and nutrition.
For most of the students, Fox says, “This is a second chance.”
So far, of the students who’ve already graduated, 10 either finished high school or earned their GED, and four are enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College to further their education. Five students received their PACT certification and 11 members of the first YouthBuild group are now employed, with two of them working in construction.
YouthBuild is always looking for educational tutors and mentors from the construction industry if you want to get involved. To find out more about the program, here is some information:
- Visit
Grand Rapids YouthBuild online to find out more.
-
Donate to Habitat Kent.
-
Volunteer with Habitat Kent. Sign up
here.
- Like them on
Facebook.
Source: Amber Fox, Director of Grand Rapids YouthBuild at Habitat for Humanity of Kent County, and Alyssa Veneklase, Marketing Coordinator at Pioneer Construction
Writer: Heidi Stukkie, Do Good Editor
Images provided by Grand Rapids YouthBuild and Pioneer Construction.