The program consists of 2 tracks, Culinary and Construction. Students rotate for 2 weeks of education and then 2 weeks of culinary training/construction.
YouthBuild provides construction skills training to all students enrolled in the Program. Occupational training, focused on construction, is accomplished through vocational classes taught by qualified instructors, hands-on instruction in our onsite workshop or at partner training sites, or worksites supervised by YouthBuild construction staff. Participants receive the 10-hour OSHA certification and then move on to the construction skills training utilizing the National Center for Construction, Education and Research (NCCER) and the Homebuilders Institute Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (HBI-PACT) curricula. Construction Trainers instruct from NCCER's 72-hour core curriculum, which provides a comprehensive introduction to worksite safety and industry regulations, construction math, power and hand tools, and construction theory. Generally, participants complete the NCCER Core curriculum within 3 months. NCCER instruction is supplemented by HBI-PACT applicable housing and construction curricula and is also completed within the first 3 months. Participants then advance to NCCER's Carpentry Level 1 curriculum which provides instruction in excavation, framing, roofing, staging, window/door installation, site preparation, and interiors/exteriors.
The Culinary Program will give each student a training program with 1,000 hours of hands-on training and 30 hours of sanitation and food handlers' courses. Completion of this training will give students an opportunity to take a written test and to perform a live cooking test to complete their American Culinary Fundamentals Certification. This program also gives students the opportunity to get hands-on experience in a catering operation run by YouthBuild Culinary. Students are involved in menu creation, costing out the event, purchasing, food preparation, and event execution.
YouthBuild provides an on-site educational component providing students with instruction focusing on improving numeracy and literacy levels, preparing students for the HiSET exam, which is the high school equivalency degree attainment, and preparation for post-secondary education. Individualized student learning plans are developed based on assessment of the student's subject knowledge, basic skills level, high school equivalency test readiness, and learning style. The Massachusetts Adult Proficiency Tests as well as the TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education) are used to assess students' progress and to measure numeracy and literacy gains. The Steck-Vaughn High School equivalency Practice Tests are used to evaluate the student's readiness to take the official high school equivalency Test.
YouthBuild has received a grant that helps us to provide students with driver's education. Students must obtain their permit first, YouthBuild then pays for the classes and driving lessons. Youth are responsible for paying for their license and passing the road test.
