Job Training Program

Due to Hurricane Katrina, all mitigation projects are now on hold until further notice.

Connecting residents of the impact community to the employment opportunities afforded by the Lock Replacement Project is a primary concern of residents. Job training is an integral component of the mitigation plan. The Construction Skills Enhancement Job Training Program was successfully implemented in FY 2000 - 2004. To date, the six completed job training classes have trained a total of 87 community residents in various construction skills.

The course breakdown is as follows:

The CBMC will reevaluate the job training program before offering any more classes. No classes will be offered in 2005. The committee will reexamine the career training needs of the impact area and consider whether to recommend non-construction skills training in 2006. The Corps of Engineers must review and approve the CBMC's final recommendation for the next training program.

In 2005, the CBMC will meet and decide whether to recommend a school-to-career training program as a future mitigation project and choose an appropriate training program for the impact area. If approved, the training program would prepare area high school students for entry-level skilled employment.

Information About Some of the Programs

Electrical Skills Job Training Program

13 Students Receive Certificate of Completion, June 2003

Thirteen students successfully completed the Electrical Construction Skills Job Training 16-week training program offered by Nunez Community College . Upon completion, the students were qualified for jobs as electrician's helpers and to enter an advanced apprenticeship program. In addition to hands-on electrical skills, the students also received OSHA, first aid, and life skills training, as well as help with job placement. The group also had the opportunity to visit the Electrical Generating Substation at Michoud and the St. Bernard Port and Harbor District Facilities.

A recognition ceremony was held on Friday, June 6, 2003 , at Nunez Community College . The program was established through a partnership between Nunez Community College , the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the CBMC in an effort to train impact area residents and ready them for employment opportunities in the construction industry.

Graduates of the program were from the impact area. Their names and neighborhoods are as follows:

• Bywater (1) - Wade Goldstein;
• Old Aurora (1) - Earl Little;
• Holy Cross (2) - Michael Lawrence, and Michael Mercadel;
• Lower Ninth Ward (4) - David Bernard, Michael Cordier, Marvin Smith, and Clay Thomas;
• St. Claude (5) - Norman Fefie, Edward Kinchen, Stephen Smoot, Edward Tate, and Cyril Thompson

Teresa Smith, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, began the program by welcoming and introducing the guests at the ceremony. Chester Mock, Associate Professor of Electrical Construction, was the guest speaker at the event and Thomas Warner, Chancellor, presented certificates to the students of the electrical construction program. Sharon Flanagan , Associate Professor and Program Manager, gave the closing remarks, which highlighted the academic skills that the students learned during the program.

Special highlights of the ceremony included a PowerPoint presentation designed by the students especially for the ceremony, a performance in sign language of the song, "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Deputy Susie Cambre of the St. Bernard Job Center, and the presentation of a certificate of appreciation to Chester Mock from the participants.

Welding Skills Job Training Program

15 Students Receive Certificate of Completion, December 2003
14 Students Receive Certificate of Completion, May 2004

A total of 29 students have successfully completed the Welding Construction Skills Job Training, 16-week training program offered by Nunez Community College . The training was made available through a partnership between the Army Corps of Engineers and the CBMC. A primary factor for eligibility of the applicant was their residency within the impact area.

The second and third groups of students to attend the CBMC Advanced Construction Skills Job Training Program graduated on December 1, 2003 and May 27, 2004 in ceremonies held at Nunez Community College . 15 students successfully completed the welding skills training program in December 2003, while 14 students successfully completed the program in May 2004. Graduates received a Certificate of Completion in Welding. The graduates, whose ages ranged from 18 to 40 years, were:

December 2003:

• Bywater (1) - Tim Melonson;
• Holy Cross (4) - David Balthazar, Stephen Douglas, Jonathan Hathaway, and Maurice Lathers;
• Lower Ninth Ward (9) -Karen Andrews, Keyanna Bently, Shanti Fernandez, Tasmine Fernandez, Shantae Franklin, Jamal Jenkins, Byron Lewis, Myanka Lewis, and Joseph Nabor;
• St. Claude (1) - Lional Nelson.

May 2004:

• Bywater (2) - Aaron P. Gordon and Daniel Nelson;
• Holy Cross (2) - Joseph Bernard III and Norman A. Sims;
• Lower Ninth Ward (8) - Darrell M. Bates, Errol Cooper, Joshua Crenshaw, James T. Parker, Wilbert J. Poree, George T. Rice, Brandon Richardson, and Jamaal Simmons;
• St. Claude (2) - Keith Gillard and Nathaniel Moran.

The graduates were trained in welding construction skills with 215 hours of hands-on training in Arc Welding blueprint reading, and job layout. Additionally, the graduates received 167 hours of training in related career/life skills such as computer techniques, resume writing, chemical awareness, and mathematics/algebra, which is required for the apprenticeship programs.

Carpentry Construction Skills Training Students Graduate, December 2004

The fourth group of students to attend the CBMC Advanced Construction Skills Job Training Program graduated on December 20, 2004 in a ceremony held at Nunez Community College . Sixteen students from the impact area successfully completed skills training and received a Certificate of Completion in Carpentry. This is a 100% completion rate for the class, which also anticipates an 87.5% job placement rate in the building trades. The graduates' names and neighborhoods are as follow:

• Holy Cross (1) - Richard Carter;
• Lower Ninth Ward (9) - Tamaria Brown, Charles Cooper, Charles Dickens, Gregory Jackson, Fairade Langston, David Horton, Wheeler Norwood, Archie Sanchez, and Derrick Sanchez;
• St. Claude/Florida (6) - Michael Coleman, Herbert Decair , Chad Hubbard, Anteal Jackson, Kenneth Lewis, and Alicia Phelps.

The graduates received 192 hours of hands-on training, which included carpentry tools training, forms building, framing, drywall, finish carpentry, OSHA, and blueprint reading. The program culminated in the construction of a complete structure. Additionally, graduates received 288 hours of training in career/life skills such as computer skills, résumé writing, chemical awareness, first aid, and mathematics. Edwin Brown, the carpentry technology instructor, stated that the class had progressed from a group of trainees that required instruction to a class of highly functional builders that were fully able to perform on a jobsite.

The graduates had the opportunity to get hands-on training during field trips to the Morial Convention Center . Several of the students also took advantage of paid work opportunities at the convention center outside of class time. A significant number of graduates will be accepted into the apprenticeship program for Carpentry Local Union #1846