Revitalize Milwaukee will be able to shape the lives of young adults through an expansion of its workforce development program called Building Hope.
Through a partnership with WRTP|BIG STEP, a workforce development nonprofit, a $1.3 million YouthBuild grant from the U.S Department of Labor will help 66 young Milwaukee adults ages 18 to 24 with no high school diploma complete their education through literacy and construction training.
“Our employer and union partnership will allow us to connect YouthBuild participants with apprenticeships and other industry career opportunities that lead to long-term financial stability,” said John Anderson, WRTP|BIG STEP interim president and CEO. “Our goal is not only to prepare young adults for in-demand careers, but also to help them launch those careers and to provide the ongoing support that they need to overcome barriers to employment.”
Revitalize Milwaukee is a nonprofit that addresses health and safety through making home repairs for Milwaukee’s low-income seniors, veterans and others with disabilities.
Since 2022, the organization has been running Building Hope, a 12-week training program that focuses on construction to help students gain different career experience in the field.
Now that the program is extending, Lead Specialist Lucio Segovia Van Berkel said Revitalize Milwaukee plans to welcome a new cohort by November. The funding will be used to buy a house in Washington Park, owned by the City of Milwaukee. Then, the new cohort will rebuild it and sell it to someone from the neighborhood.
“The idea is to have two houses,” Segovia Van Berkel said.
Jackie Weber, Revitalize Milwaukee’s workforce development coordinator and construction trainer, describes this approach as a “win-win” situation and is excited to kick it off.
“It’s a way to help improve the neighborhood as well as supplying good safe housing for a family, plus the students get to learn along the way,” Weber said.
Gaining hands-on construction experience
Weber has been a carpenter since 2002 and has taught for eight years, so she will be introducing the new cohort to fundamentals like carpentry, tool safety, window and door installation and other construction skills inside a classroom.
Segovia Van Berkel said an additional instructor will be hired to assist students with the hands-on experience and manage the repairs being done.
“The students will be doing most of the work on the houses, but they can’t do electrical and plumbing because that’s a field you have to have a license to do,” Weber said. “They’ll be able to observe the electrical and plumbing being done though.”
While learning, students are expected to receive a lead abatement worker certification, certified pre-apprenticeship credentials, certification from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for completing a 10-hour training and First Aid/CPR certification.
Weber also wants to ensure her students acquire soft skills like time management, staying prepared and more.
“I’m hoping to help them understand what it is to be a professional,” she said.
Taking the opportunity
Segovia Van Berkel said he appreciates that opportunities like this exist for young people because it gives them a chance to overcome hurdles like finding balance in a complex trade and having the chance to build on prior skills they may have.
“Sometimes people might have another job, so they might not have the time to be a part of something similar to this,” he said. “That’s why we try very hard to have the opportunity to pay these students.”
Interested?
For young adults interested in becoming a part of Building Hope’s extended workforce development program, email Weber at jackie@rtmilwaukee.org or call the office at 414-312-7531.
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