Grant aids creation
of construction school

Honolulu Community College is getting a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to create a "Construction Academy," an initiative to help steer young people into skilled jobs in the building industry.

Local economists project that more than 11,000 new jobs will be created in the construction field in Hawaii during the next seven years.

"There are numerous opportunities for local kids to learn a skilled trade or earn a specialized degree due to the booming construction industry," Ramsey Pedersen, community college chancellor, said Wednesday when the grant was announced.

The college will work with eight public high schools to create a standardized curriculum in building and construction.

The grant will also cover teacher training, mentoring and internships in the professions. Instructors will be hired on contract to work throughout the system.

Participating high schools are Kailua, Kahuku, Waialua, Mililani, Waipahu, Radford, Pearl City, high schools and the Hawaii Academy for Arts and Sciences.

The school is the lead campus in the University of Hawaii system for construction-related education. Last month, it was awarded an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to build new classrooms to support education in the building and construction trades.