Background
Esperanza Unida's Construction Training and Job Placement Program originated from several issues our community is facing. For one thing, inner-city and low-income people in Milwaukee are facing a housing crisis due to insufficient and unsafe housing. Also, Milwaukee has been experiencing a critical reduction in jobs that pay living wages. With jobs disappearing, many Latinos and other minorities in Milwaukee need an alternative to unskilled labor. We also recognized that steps needed be taken to offer the youth of our central neighborhoods real alternatives to crime, violence, teen pregnancy, and drugs. Rather, our youth need pathways for successful transition into adulthood.  Students train for 12-26 weeks (240 to 520 hours).

Our Response
Esperanza Unida's Construction Training and Job Placement Program targets unemployed, underemployed and minority youth and adults and helps them obtain marketable skills and self-sustaining employment in the construction industry.  Program participants train under the supervision of journeyman carpenters, learning construction skills hands-on.  

This program works by:

• Providing residential rehab/construction training for the community's youth and adults.

• Rehabilitating and producing affordable, energy-efficient, low-maintenance homes for low-income families.

• Providing bi-lingual training with the goal of placing youth and adults from the community into better-paying jobs in the construction trades (Esperanza Unida also assists trainees to pass the construction apprenticeship test).

• Offering an alternative to demolition of vacant and blighted properties by using them as training sites.

• Utilizing the skills and experience of unemployed and underemployed workers.

Program Description
This project provides training in the building, construction, and housing rehabilitation industries. Esperanza Unida trains students by using the process of gut/rehab (rough) carpentry, which includes basic carpentry, plumbing, electrical work and dry wall. Over the course of this training, students actively take part in the construction and/or rehabilitation of 2-3 homes.

After successfully completing the training program and passing the Carpenter's Apprenticeship Exam, each student is given an opportunity to receive apprenticeship placement assistance through Esperanza Unida’s Student Services or to be placed at a job site. It is our goal to provide the graduate with employment as soon as possible upon course completion.

In addition to a group of trained graduates with highly-marketable skills, the finished product includes energy-efficient, affordable, quality houses. The housing units produced are sold at a reduced price to low-income residents who will live in the homes for a minimum of five years.

Instructional Resources Highly-qualified union journeymen from the skilled trades train students through rehabilitating vacant houses acquired from the City of Milwaukee or donated from the private sector. Esperanza Unida has on-going working relationships with other community service organizations that support our Construction Training and Job Placement Project.

The program also collaborates with Plumbers Local 75, the Milwaukee Building Trades and the Carpenter’s Unions, with the purpose of moving our students into pre-apprenticeship programs. In addition, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) has provided Esperanza Unida with two part-time instructors for the Learning Center, which offers free classes to students in Basic Skills, GED, and ESL.

Students
We receive student referrals from many sources, including local high schools, community agencies, churches, and JTPA. Our students are both male and female. Upon entry to the program, each student is assessed through our Learning Center on academic ability and is provided with a Basic Education Plan and English as Second Language, if necessary. Students also receive assistance to pass entrance tests for union apprenticeships. Esperanza Unida will assist students with job placement, both in building trade unions and in outside employment.

Various Programs
Esperanza Unida’s Construction Training and Job Placement Program currently offers three individual training vehicles: (1) Minority Apprenticeship Recruitment Program; (2) Housing Rehab, and (3) Wisconsin Conservation Corps.

(1). Minority Apprenticeship Recruitment Program
The Association of General Contractors and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, in partnership with Esperanza Unida, recruit minority men and women interested in construction skilled trade apprenticeships, including:

Requirements

• 18 years of age or older
• High School diploma or GED
• Valid Wisconsin driver’s license
• Available transportation
• 11th grade level math and English
• Ability to pass drug screening
• Physically capable of doing construction work

(2). Housing Rehab
Esperanza Unida rehabs vacant houses to sell to low-income families. The Housing Rehab students work four mornings per week on the rehab house, learning construction skills such as rough carpentry, drywall and finishing, insulation, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and exterior construction. The students also study in our Learning Center for their GED. This is a voluntary program with continual classes. Requirements Physically capable of doing construction work A desire and willingness to learn

Requirements