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:: Saturday, July 10, 2004 ::

4 teachers set to learn building trades By Susan Essoyan, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
'We're not just talking about a carpenter swinging a hammer,' said Bruce Coppa, director of the Pacific Resource Partnership. 'We're talking about engineers, accountants, interior designers ...

'A qualified, trained work force is a critical element of our business,' he added, 'and so this long-term commitment to support teachers, and in turn Hawaii's students, makes a lot of sense.'

Pacific Resource Partnership, a joint venture of the Hawaii Carpenters Union and Hawaii's unionized building contractors, is sponsoring the pilot program with the state Department of Education. It is propelled in part by concern that some of the students who want construction jobs straight out of high school discover they are not qualified.

'Today, an estimated one-third of high school graduates who apply cannot pass the math test to qualify for job training,' Coppa said. 'In some cases, students might better understand the importance and relevance or reading, writing and arithmetic if framed within the real-life application of jobs that appeal to them.'

posted 8:40 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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