YouthBuild of
Northeast Tennessee
April
17, 2007
The
Alliance
for Business and Training (AB&) has received two Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) YouthBuild Grants for
Kingsport and Washington/Carter Counties, Tennessee. YouthBuild
was awarded $700,000 (Kingsport,
TN)
and $400,000 (Carter County, TN) these grants are designed to
provide academic training and construction skills training to
youth between, the ages of 18 and 24. Program participants will
construct 6 new housing units for low income/homeless families.
The Carter County program partners include
First Tennessee Development District, Eastern Eight Community
Development Corporation, Tennessee Department of Labor and
Workforce Development, AB&T, Northeast Tennessee Youth Council,
Tennessee Technology Center, Jacobs Creek Job Corps,
Elizabethton City Schools, Carter County Board of Education,
Carter County Private Industry Council, Associated General
Contractors of Tennessee, General Shale, Junior Achievement
Tri-Cities, Elizabethton Housing Authority and Big John’s
Closeouts.
Youth will be recruited for both programs from
Sullivan, Carter, Unicoi, Johnson and
Washington Counties. Currently, the Carter County YouthBuild
program has enrolled approximately 25 participants and has began
construction on its first residence located at 310 East K Street,
Elizabethton,
TN.
YouthBuild is a comprehensive youth and
community development program that addresses core issues facing
low income and at risk youth: education, jobs, counseling, and
leadership development. YouthBuild participants are young men
and women who have dropped out of schools and have no apparent
path to a productive future.
“YouthBuild allows young people to
simultaneously serve their communities and build their own
future, “said Joe Wallen, YouthBuild of Northeast Tennessee
Coordinator. “Construction trades are traditionally one of the
nation’s most in-demand careers.”
Alliance
for Business and Training of Elizabethton, TN, will provide
administrative support and oversight for YouthBuild of Northeast
Tennessee. Participants will receive hands-on vocational
training in masonry, carpentry, drywall, painting, plumbing and
electrical. Students will also explore career possibilities,
community service, and leadership, in addition to receiving
classroom training toward their GED.
The program will provide physical
examinations, work clothing, safety gear, and personal hand
tools for all participants. Students may earn certificates of
competency in various construction trades and will receive
career counseling and job placement services following training.
“The
Alliance for Business and Training is excited to bring
YouthBuild to Northeast Tennessee and offer our students the
opportunity to improve their lives and their communities,” said
David Shanks, Executive Director. For more information or to
apply for YouthBuild of Northeast Tennessee, please contact Joe
Wallen at
(423)
547-7515,
Ext 135 or Lisa Evans at
(423)
547-7515,
Ext. 149.
YOUTHBUILD KINGSPORT, TN;
December
1, 2006
YouthBuild gets $700,000 federal grant - Local program aims to
teach youths skills while they work toward GEDs.
By John Thompson, Elizabethton Bureau Chief
jthompson@johnsoncitypress.com
For the
second year in a row, the Alliance for Business and Training has
received a grant for YouthBuild of Northeast Tennessee form the
U.s. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This year's
grant of $700,000 is nearly double last year's grant of
$400,000.
Joe
Wallen, YouthBuild of Northeast Tennessee coordinator, said the
money will be used to build four new house using unskilled
youths between the ages of 16-24. The youths will build the
homes for half of their working day and spend the other half in
the classroom working toward their GED.
Wallen
said the houses will be build in Kingsport as part of the Hope
Project, which has received an $11 million grant for a major
renovation effort of houses in that city. Partners in the
Alliance for Business and Training Project, include the
Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority, First Tennessee
Development District and Eastern Eight Community Development
Corp.
Work
won't get started on those four houses for several months,
Wallen said, because it takes that long to complete all the
administrative requirements before the money can be drawn. But
work, should be starting in February on YouthBuild's projects
from the first grant, which include two new houses in Carter
County.
Wallen
said he is recruiting workers. For more information, call him at
547-7515, ext. 135. Wallen said the workers will not only learn
building skills, his office also works with local contractors to
find employment once they have completed the project.
YouthBuild is a national program funded by HUD. Since the
program's inception in 1993, more than $485 million in grants
have been awarded to public and private nonprofit organizations
that have trained more than 47,000 young people to construct and
rehabilitate more than 13,000 houses for homeless or very low
income people.
This
year, HUD will provide $45.5 million in grants that will enable
3,075 young people to build 702 homes for low-income families.
Most of
the participants in the program are high school dropouts from
very low income families. The program does allow young people
from higher income families and those with a high school diploma
to participate if they have educational needs that justify their
inclusion.
YOUTHBUILD
OF NORTHEAST TENNESSEE;
September
1, 2006
AB&T,
Alliance for Business and Training will provide administrative
support and oversight for the Youth Build of Northeast Tennessee
(Department of HUD program). Participants will receive hands-on
vocational training in masonry, carpentry, drywall, painting,
plumbing and electrical. The students will explore career
possibilities, community service and leadership, in addition to
receiving classroom training toward their GED.
YouthBuild of Northeast Tennessee will be recruiting
participants for program year 2006-2007. Eligible participants
will earn an hourly wage while training in the construction
trades and will work toward obtaining their GED credential
during the classroom component of YouthBuild.
YouthBuild is a comprehensive youth and community development
program that addresses core issues facing low income and at risk
youth: education, jobs, counseling, and leadership development.
YouthBuild participants are young men and women who have dropped
out of school and have no apparent path to a productive future.
"YouthBuild allows young people to simultaneously serve their
communities and build their own future," said Joe Wallen,
YouthBuild of Northeast Tennessee Coordinator. "Construction
trades are traditionally one of the nation's most in-demand
careers. It is projected there will be a 20-25 percent increase
in demand for trained construction workers over the next 6 years
and the average wage for journeyman construction workers ranges
from $25,000 to $45,000 per year."
The program will provide physical examinations, work clothing,
safety gear, and personal hand tools for all participants.
Students may earn certificates of competency in various
construction trades and will receive career counseling and job
placement services following training.
"The Alliance for Business and Training is excited to bring
YouthBuild to Northeast Tennessee and offer our students the
opportunity to improve their lives and their communities," said
David Shanks, AB&T, Executive Director.
For more information or to apply for YouthBuild of Northeast
Tennessee, please contact Joe Wallen at (423) 547-7515, Ext. 135
or Lisa Evans at (423) 547-7515, Ext. 120.
TENNESSEE
CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD;
2006
The
Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence recently announced that the Alliance
for Business and Training of Elizabethton, Tennessee is a winner of the
Achievement Award in its annual recognition program.
AB&T,
Alliance for Business and Training is a non profit community based
organization who is a leader in the field of employment and training. AB&T has
provided exemplary labor market services to employers, job seekers, students,
and community stakeholders in the northeast Tennessee region for nearly two
decades. AB&T has become a benchmark for best practice in public/private
collaboration to ensure achievement of economic development, skill training and
labor market enhancements for its five (5) counties in northeast Tennessee, as
well as for contiguous regions in western North Carolina and southwest Virginia.
The Corporate Board of AB&T consists of George Jaynes,
Washington County,
Richard Venable,
Sullivan County,
Dick Grayson,
Johnson County,
Dale Fair,
Carter County,
Larry Rose,
Unicoi County.
County Mayors (County Mayors) and at-large business and educational leaders such
as Dr. Bill Locke, Northeast State Community College, Larry Snider,
Eastman Chemical Company, Bob Nicar and Bob Cupp.
AB&T's
services to the community include providing a workforce development system that
meets employer needs and fosters economic growth and serves as staff to the
Northeast Tennessee Workforce Investment Board. The Northeast Tennessee
Workforce Investment Board (NETWIB) represents Carter, Johnson, Unicoi, Sullivan
and Washington counties of Tennessee, and serves as a catalyst in bringing
together major workforce development stakeholders and provides strategic
planning for employment and training programs. The NETWIB is authorized by the
Workforce Investment Act, appointed by the local County Mayors with the majority
of the board from the private sector. The NETWIB mission is:
To enhance economic
development in Northeast Tennessee by providing guidance and resources to meet
employment needs. David
Shanks, Executive Director, of the Alliance for Business and Training, Inc
(AB&T) would like to thank Carol Trahan of Spherion, April Eads of Bristol
Electric, and Wallace Grills of Tele-Optics for their expertise in assisting in
the development of AB&T’s quality system processes so to establish innovating
employment and training programs in Northeast Tennessee.
The
Tennessee Center for Performance Center, through its annual evaluation and
assessment process, recognizes organizations that have achieved the highest
standards of excellence in their operation and results. The program uses the
Criteria for Performance Excellence established by the Baldrige National Quality
Program as the evaluation and education tool.
“It
is an honor for me to recognize and to offer my congratulations to all of these
great Tennessee companies that have demonstrated a commitment to excellence. “
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen said. “The employees of each of these
organizations are to be commended for having set and met the standards for
quality performance that reflect positively on our state.” Award
applicants are assessed in seven categories: leadership, strategic planning,
customer and market focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; human
resource focus; process management; and results.
“Excellence implies more than competence, “said Katie Rawls, president of the
Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence. “It means striving for the highest
possible standards. The 2004 Award winners represent the best and have done a
great service by setting high standards for others to follow. I applaud their
accomplishments.”
The
Tennessee program, which is itself a national and international role model, is
open to all businesses as well as public and private education institutions,
health care organizations, government agencies and other non-profit entities.
Serving as chair of the 2004 Board of Directors is Dr. Michael Browder, General
Manager, Bristol Tennessee
Electric System. For
more information about Alliance for Business and Training, contact David Shanks
or Kathy Pierce at (423) 547-7500.
