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Students display new skills at Hillhouse event.
Thirty-two Hillhouse High students are in the process of completing 200 hours of needed training to start on the path to unionized construction jobs.
The students have been studying construction math, masonry, scaffolding, concrete, demolition, pipework, and road safety as part of a union-aided “Career Pathways Technology Training Corridor” program at the school. They earn academic credit. They also simultaneously complete vocational training hours that count toward guaranteed slots in construction apprenticeship programs.
The students in the program gathered at Hillhouse Monday to pour concrete, display benches they built and demonstrate other skills they’ve learned for an audience of public officials.
Mayor Toni Harp said later on her WNHH radio “Mayor Monday” program that the students will earn double the minimum wage in guaranteed apprenticeship, then receive a 10 percent raise after their first 100 hours. She noted that the Hillhouse program, which grew out of her “YouthStat” initiative, is one of several efforts in the city to guide students not necessarily destined for four-year colleges into productive, well-paying professions.
Hillhouse launched the program in conjunction with the New England Laborers’ Training Trust Fund and Laborers’ Local 455 and the not-for-profit Justice Education Center. The Board of Education has put $70,000 in it.
