As Housing Pauses, Immigrant Laborers Return to School to Expand Their Tool Belt

These construction workers are taking classes in electricity, plumbing, drywall and other skills. When business picks up again, they will be ready for better jobs. DP

By Alejandro Lazo

washingtonpost.com: With home-building jobs increasingly hard to come by, the Residential Construction Workers Association of Alexandria is trying to help Hispanic workers improve their marketability and skills with a new curriculum that teaches them construction trades as well as small-business skills.

Though not strictly limited to Hispanic workers, the group has offered an array of social-service referrals and counseling in Spanish since its founding in 2002, assisting immigrant workers in enrolling their children in school, obtaining a driver's license and finding courses to learn English.

Now the group is making training and certification its primary activity.

"Most of the people working in construction are new immigrants, and they have all the problems that new immigrants have adjusting to a new country," said Clayton Sinyai, executive director of the group.

Known as ASTRACOR, its initials in Spanish, the organization started with a grant of $200,000 from the state of Virginia. Local government officials, business leaders and members of the Construction & Master Laborers Local Union 11, which represents workers in commercial construction, founded the group.

The group's new curriculum offers free courses in home electrical wiring, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, drywall and ceramic tile installation. The group is also rolling out a curriculum in small-business skills for residential construction workers. That course will teach workers how to read plans, estimate the cost of work and obtain financing, among other things.
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