Youth Builders Get a Bigger Hammer

Spartanburg YouthBuild is a construction training and GED program of the Friedens Neighborhood Foundation in the Hyde Park neighborhood. This grant-funded program through the Spartanburg Housing Authority (SHA) started Tuesday, September 4, 2007, in partnership with Spartanburg Community College Corporate and Community Education (SCC-C&CE), housed at the SC Deaf and Blind School
Ten students aged 18-24 will receive 184 hours of building construction training and GED preparation.The program operates in 6-month cycles. Rev. C. J. Jones emphasizes that the program is open and on-going.

YouthBuild has five components:

• Construction skills, a high demand occupation
• Education for completion of GED
• Counseling and life skills
• Job placement and graduate services
• Leadership development

YouthBuild members have made a commitment to take their lives in a new direction and to be leaders. As they learn leadership skills, they will also be literally rebuilding the Spartanburg community by rehabbing buildings to create new affordable housing

During the first week, students will focus on classroom skills, and next week they will be on the construction sites for on the job training. Students are paid minimum wage ($5.85/hour) for classroom and work site attendance with bonuses for academic progress (moving up two levels in a subject area), demonstrating leadership in the Youth Council, and perfect on-time attendance each two weeks. Students may earn as much as $532 for each two week session, but pay is docked for infractions of rules and tardiness. New students will be added to the program if current students leave.

In addition to classroom and on the job training, the students learn leadership through the Youth Council, and life skills through the counseling component. The participants were selected from over 60 applicants who were not able to complete high school.

Terrill Brown, instructor for SCC Corporate and Community Education, teaches the construction skills component. SCC C&CE is proud to be a part of this community building program for at-risk young adults.