Tools for trading up: by giving its residents the opportunity to learn building trade skills, the Philadelphia Housing Authority is helping its public housing residents to enter the middle class and establish self-sufficiency.

Eight years ago, Carl Greene, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), had a dream. He wanted to give residents the opportunity to begin careers in the building trades. One year later, the agency's Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program began sending graduates into the trades.

Through an agreement with nearly all of the city's building trade unions, PHA offers a 21-week union exam preparation course twice per year, taught by union instructors. Students receive academic and hands-on education and are paid a stipend of $5.15 an hour for the 40-hour week commitment. Once they pass the exam, they begin the climb up the union wage scale, helping them to set their sights on joining the middle class.

The program is funded by several sources, including the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corp. and the U.S. Department of Labor. In total, 444 PHA residents have graduated, with 248 entering into union construction apprenticeship positions since 1999. Many other graduates have chosen to apply what they learned in the course to enter careers outside of construction.

"The Pre-Apprenticeship Program gives our residents the skills and work attitude they need to land well-paying jobs and to build new lives," Greene said. "It also has the benefit of diversifying the workforce by giving skilled minority workers a chance to share in the construction boom at PHA and in Philadelphia."

George Johnson, PHA's Training Director for the program, said the program "takes people from almost zero income and moves them right into the middle class."

Johnson also said that the unions now offer college education opportunities. The General Building Contractors Association pays into a special fund under an agreement with the trade unions. The association's membership performs the majority of commercial, industrial and institutional construction in Philadelphia's five-county area. Some people who began in the trades are now civil engineers, construction managers or superintendents of construction sites.

Residents who take part in the program are schooled at the Work Force Development Center, a state-of-the-art facility located at Greater Grays Ferry Estates, one of PHA's major developments in South Philadelphia. The center covers 13,500 square feet and cost more than $2.5 million to build. It opened in July 2004 and replaced an earlier; smaller site of 8,000 square feet that was demolished when the entire development was rebuilt.

The new center features four complete trade shops for training as roofers, painters, carpenters and electricians. It also has a computer lab and a video library.

WOMEN AT WORK

The program's graduates are split almost evenly between men and women, reflecting an ongoing change in the makeup of building trades. Those jobs were once considered "a man's job." Several graduates who are close to earning their journeyman's cards are representative of the change.

Akela Taylor, 28, an apprentice with Local 98 of the Electricians Union, had worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant. She said she received the ultimate compliment from one of her co-workers when that co-worker told her that he used to think women shouldn't work in construction, until he started working with her. Taylor has worked on several high-profile developments, including Lincoln Financial Field, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. Eventually, Taylor would like to open her own electrical supply house or become an inspector.

Life is beginning at age 40 for Elizabeth Williams, who is about to become a Journeywoman with the Sheet Metal Workers union. She had worked two jobs to support her family--as a sorter at United Parcel Service and delivering mini-blinds and rods. The job of a sheet metal worker offers variety and the potential to achieve many different certifications to improve Williams' earning power.

Valarie Lewis, 36, left the comfort of a job she had held for seven years as a Certified Nurses Aid to become an electrician. This was no small decision for the single mother of three children. Lewis said it was the right decision because "there are so many different areas in the construction industry that you can branch off to."

CREATING A NEW LEGACY

Greene said some program graduates have formed their own businesses.

"Entrepreneurialism is what has made America the great power that it is, and we're proud of the graduates who choose this path," he said.

Johnson adds that the program's graduates are creating a new legacy.

"Eighty percent of the people who came into this program and were on any type of welfare never returned to welfare," Johnson said.

Recently, the Philadelphia School District announced plans for a program similar to the one at PHA, which Greene said is gratifying to see. The school district has plans to build several new schools. He said he thinks it makes perfect sense for the district to give its graduates the same kind of opportunities.

But Greene said the biggest value of the program to the housing construction industry in Philadelphia is the diversification of the workforce.

"More people in more neighborhoods can feel that they are contributing to the rebirth of our city," he said. "That way you don't have people in certain parts of the city being locked out and feeling resentful that someone else is getting all of the benefits from the growth. It's better for all of us when we feel we are part of something successful."

For more information, e-mail [e-mail] or call 215/684-4174.

About PHA

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is the largest apartment provider in Pennsylvania.

It develops, acquires, leases and operates affordable housing for city residents with limited incomes. Its funding comes primarily from the federal government. It also works in partnership with city and state governments as well as private investors.

Although it is a public agency, it operates in many ways like a private property management company by employing mare, of the best practices of the private real estate industry.

PHA was established in 1937 and is the nation's fourth largest housing authority. It houses more than 80,000 people in the City of Philadelphia and employs 2,000 people, who deliver services to its clients. Its budget total $350 million.