Posted on 03/12/2004 11:10:12 AM PST by chance33_98
Program will train Hispanic carpenters
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Peggy Kreimer Post staff reporter
Home construction sites in Northern Kentucky usually ring with the sound of hammers and the lilt of Spanish as Hispanic workers become an ever larger part of the construction workforce. On Saturday, that particular symphony moves to Patton Vocational School in Edgewood, where the Home Builders Association of Northern Kentucky is holding its first Spanish-language training program for carpenters.
Twenty Hispanic men and women will learn English skills for the first 90 minutes and basic carpentry skills with a Spanish interpreter for the other two-and-a-half hours. The class is the first in a 10-week pilot program designed around a new local employment reality in which Hispanic workers are becoming the backbone of the construction labor force.
"We went from seeing none to most jobs we usually have at least one subcontractor with a whole crew of Hispanic workers,'' said Kevin Hemmer of Hemmer Industries in Florence.
"I went to one job and the foreman had marked 'verde' on all the walls. I asked the drywall man, 'What's that about?' He said that's 'green' in Spanish. They wanted greenboard on those walls.''
Hans Philippo, owner of Holland Roofing, has started offering English lessons at his company in Florence. "I started having a few Hispanic people working here eight to 10 years ago,'' he said. "Now we put an ad in and the majority who show up asking for the job are Hispanic people. They end up being very good workers,'' he said.
"They're quite willing to learn. They want to work as many hours as they can. You can rely on them,'' he said.
And many of the workers do their own recruiting. "Once you have a good group going, they know friends and they know family.'' Philippo said he has built whole crews of Hispanics.
But communication can be difficult if only one or two Hispanic workers on a job speak English.
The new Home Builders training program will help workers and business owners by improving job and communication skills at the same time.
"That's an important labor source,'' said Mike Enzweiler, education director of the Home Builders, who helped develop the new training program.
"We have found through our members that many of them are already working in the trades. We're trying to help that process. A big component of the program is the Spanish to English lessons. The big things are safety and communication,'' Enzweiler said.
The Home Builders worked on the program with Centro De Amistad, the Hispanic Resource Center that Sister Juana Mendez runs through the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington.
"I made an announcement, and we were filled in two days,'' said Sister Juana. "We could only take 20. We had to turn people away.''
The class is on Saturday, which allows students to continue in other jobs while improving their skills. "Some are working in restaurants. Some are already doing a little carpentry but have very little experience,'' she said. "We have some who are factory workers at Duro Bag. They were all very excited. They said 'We want to be able to learn something that will help us get better jobs.'''
The English lessons are a crucial component.
"People have to know how to measure, and they have to measure in English,'' said Jane Cook, a carpenter with Ryan Remodeling of Cincinnati, who will teach the course.
"We're starting with basics of carpentry and English in terms of how it applies to the construction trade. They'll be getting the basic carpentry skills, the math skills.''
The 20 students also will get a set of tools, including a hand saw, framing hammer, tape measure, square, chalk line, level, utility knife, punch and safety glasses. They will learn to measure, cut, and assemble and will frame a wall and roof and install a floor.
Beginning carpenter's helpers with little or no experience make about $8 an hour for residential carpentry work. Apprentices usually start at $12 to $13 an hour, Enzweiler said. In this region, commercial work is done by union carpenters who make higher union pay scales, but residential work is non-union, Enzweiler said.
The training program for Hispanics is a pre-apprentice program. But once they master the language, they will qualify for the apprentice program that Home Builders offers in carpentry, electricity or heating and cooling. That September through March evening program costs $625 and is open to people at any skill level. Enzweiler said he expects to award several scholarships to that program to graduates of the Hispanic program.
Cook called the Hispanic construction workers a wave of the future. "We're seeing more and more Hispanic crews,'' she said. "They're not taking the jobs our current people have.
"They get the same salary as anybody. We need more workers. There are always openings for skilled people,'' she said.
"These are not folks wanting a handout, wanting something for nothing. They're willing to work and work darned hard,'' she said.
The building industry in Northern Kentucky has boomed in recent years said Dan Dressman, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Northern Kentucky,
"Builders tell us they can't find qualified labor, particularly skilled carpenters. There are not enough people to fill the positions,'' Dressman said.
"We want to provide more connection with the Hispanic community that's already well represented in the construction trade,'' he said.
"There is really a need for carpenters now in the industry. It's hard work. A lot of people don't want to do it.''
TOOLS SOUGHT
• The pre-apprentice carpentry class for Hispanics runs every Saturday for 10 weeks at Patton Vocational School in Edgewood.
• Donations for tools or scholarships for graduates of the pre-apprentice class to enroll in the apprentice class are welcome.
• For information or to donate, contact Mike Enzweiler, Home Builders Association of Northern Kentucky, 209 Grandview Dr., Fort Mitchell, Ky. 41017, or call (859) 331-9500.
As long as it's private money, fine.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to communicate with someone while they're standing there nodding their head in agreement, not understanding a word I say.
It doesn't matter that they show up everyday willing to work if they don't know what you want done, or the way you want it done....Sometimes "cheap labor" can be costly.
If we taught English in our schools instead of Ebonics, maybe the contractors could communicate with Americans.
If the blacks don't wake up and join with the other Americans they are finished. You can talk all you want about minorities but the reality is that if the Hispanics gain political clout, it will be the blacks who will suffer.
Blacks are Americans and if they realized the opportunity available in this country they would flourish. Teach history as it should be taught, get rid of afro and be Americans.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.