Building up our local workforce is essential
As the workforce development agent serving on behalf of Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto and Allegheny County Executive Fitzgerald, Partner4Work commends Mr. Peduto’s leadership on the Construction Industry Task Force (“Pittsburgh Task Force Targets Job Training, Wages Amid Local Building Boom,” July 26, post- gazette.com).
Partner4Work’s expertise on the regional labor market supports Mr. Peduto’s prediction: The region’s construction industry is expected to grow more than 10 percent by 2025. With a blend of public and private funds, Partner4Work supports a robust portfolio of initiatives to prepare diverse populations for these sustainable and wellpaying jobs. We’re also working to ensure the needs of regional businesses are met.
Between July 2016 and June 2017, and in partnership with nearly 30 construction-related businesses, Partner4Work funded training for 662 construction workers to earn the skills needed to become forklift operators, electricians, sheet metal workers and more. Of those trained, 80 percent have reported increased skills and earnings.
Our partnership with the Energy Innovation Center prepares people for meaningful careers. In the last 18 months, 64 percent of the graduates of the Intro to Construction program found employment as heavy equipment operators, carpenters, electricians and more; the program is set to graduate a class of 26 next week. Similar successes have resulted from the Surface Restoration and Treatment program.
With the Allegheny County Jail Collaborative and the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh, we connect men and women in work release or home confinement programs with masonry training; we partner with five youth-serving organizations to prepare young adults for future careers in construction; and we help deliver skilled talent to developers of the Almono site in Hazelwood and Civic Arena property in the Lower Hill .
Helping people build solid futures in the building trades is important to the overall health
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of our region. STEFANI PASHMAN CEO Partner4Work (formerly Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board)
Donald Trump has reached the highest office in the land and now he wants to move on. Every news show features the Daily Donald Dumb Act of the Day. His well-oiled administration appointees are all looking to leave office before they become an executive decision on late night Twitter. Even the GOP members are wondering what will come next. The Donald wants to get back to his normal routine of doing deals and golfing in Florida. Plus, he can gray gracefully without wasting anymore Grecian Formula.
Mike Pence — are you ready for the task at hand? CHUCK STERRETT
O’Hara
I agree with President Donald Trump’s decision to ban transgender individuals from the military due to burdens with the tremendous medical costs and disruption. Military does not have the responsibility to meet the needs of transgender people. Moreover, I was rejected from military due to my deafness. Same goes with low visual, flat feet, phobias, etc. JAMES C. NOSCHESE Forest Hills
I don’t know whether the Rev. John T. Sweeney is a child molester, but what is really aggravating and frustrating to me, mostly as a woman, is the last paragraph of the story (“Greensburg Priest Charged With Sex Abuse of Boy,” July 25). Parishioner Tom Thimons must set a very low bar for men when he states that “I don’t know whether or not this charge is valid, but even assuming it is valid, he’s still a good man who made a mistake.”
Really? So a “good guy” to Mr. Thimons is a guy who victimizes young children? No, Mr. Thimons, a mistake is taking a wrong exit on the parkway. A mistake is buying milk when what you really need is bread. A mistake is misspelling a word. Victimizing a child for your own pleasure is not a mistake. It is a crime and no “good man” would do that! CLARA HANNY
Ross
I wonder if anyone else has noticed that the U.S. Postal Service is in a sorry state. I do not think it’s going to get a lot better because of the digital world we live in. Hardly anyone writes letters. Many people have completely gone away from paper in doing whatever they do.
So, does it bother anyone that these folks have a pretty nice contract .... good health insurance, a good pension and the hourly wages are not so bad either. Does anyone notice the quarterly reports that show hundreds of millions of dollars in the loss column?
There is a great tradition regarding the Postal Service. It is one of the first agencies, if not the first and oldest in the United States. But it appears that for various and sundry reasons, it has become obsolete. N.A. LIBERTO
Blawnox