 Pittsburgh’s construction boom offers a second chance to those who barely had a first one.By George F. Will Columnist PITTSBURGH — In the 1940s, Steve Shelton’s grandfather dressed up — white shirt, tie, fedora — to take the streetcar to the steel mill where he would change into work clothes, and would shower before dressing up to return home. “There was,” Shelton says, “such dignity in the trades back then.”
There still is at the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh (TIP) that Shelton launched. There, in what used to be a Westinghouse Electric factory, some men, many in their 30s looking for their first legal jobs, and a few women learn to wield trowels and mortar, thereby deriving from bricklaying (and welding, carpentry and painting) a dignity they did not feel when they grew up on this city’s meanest streets, or when, for 85 percent of them, their incarcerations ended. Shelton, 59, was 12 when he first was taken to a construction site. “I just wanted to build stuff,” so after enjoying two things in high school (wood shop, metal shop), serving in the Navy and working in the trades, he started a business “out of the trunk of my car.” Eventually, however, he wondered: “Where are all the young guys?” He saw: “Everyone was being pushed to college.” He thought: “Having guys 55 or 60 years old on top of scaffolding, laying bricks, is not sustainable.” Read more::> https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/human-reclamation-through-bricklaying/2020/01/30/dc24fa16-4396-11ea-aa6a-083d01b3ed18_story.html
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Baker Correctional Institution winners of first ever competition
SANDERSON, Fla. — Inmates from across the state traveled to Baker Correctional Institution to compete in the first ever Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) inter-institutional inmate masonry competition. Seven teams from various Florida correctional institutions showcased their masonry skills, judged by members of the Florida Masonry Apprenticeship and Educational Foundation (FMAEF). “This is a perfect model of how we are trying to take our rehabilitation programming and actually have it contribute to restoring the men and women under our care back to their communities with a skill that can immediately result in employment,” said FDC Secretary Mark S. Inch. “This competition demonstrates the skill that meets industry standards for immediate employment. We have skilled instructors that are following industry standards, and we have great support from the business community; both from professional and educational organizations.” Masonry competitions are used industry wide to highlight the quality, skill and fidelity of masonry education programs. FDC’s masonry programs offer industry-recognized certifications through rigorous coursework and hands-on experience. This training program equips inmates with the skills necessary for employment. Prior to release, inmates are paired with industry professionals through FMAEF to assist with immediate employment opportunities. Read more:: http://www.dc.state.fl.us/comm/press/Main/01-27-Masonry.html |
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