Building Trades
Academy
Overview of the Company
For nearly 30 years, the Building
Trades Academy (The Academy) of
Tidewater Builders Association has
been simultaneously providing
economically disadvantaged men and
women with promising careers while
building affordable homes for
low-income families. Our mission is
to deliver employment training in
residential construction trades to
economically disadvantaged residents
of South Hampton Roads through
programs that enhance the community
and promote affordable
homeownership.
Participants of the Building Trades
Academy’s pre-apprenticeship
training program are among those
low-income residents that are being
affected the most by unaffordable
housing. The program consists of 10
to 12 weeks of employment training
in the classroom and at the work
site. Classroom instruction is
delivered from the Residential
Construction Academy Series (RCA
Series). RCA Series is a product of
the Home Builders Institute that was
developed specifically to increase
the skills of entry-level workers.
During training participants
“constructively” take in hand issues
affecting their life while gaining
valuable hands-on experience in
their chosen career path. As one
Portsmouth participant recently
described it, “It makes me feel
legendary – like I was a part of
history. For years to come, this
house will be here. It’s like
immortality.”
Preparing an at-risk population to
obtain and retain employment is a
demanding endeavor to accomplish.
They usually have a multitude of
obstacles to overcome in order to
keep a job. Such barriers include
basic skills deficiency, poor work
history, childcare issues, housing
problems, and lack of
transportation. The biggest
obstacle, however, tends to be
themselves. The program, therefore,
demands that each trainee
participate in training as if it
were a job. Counseling and
pre-employability classes as well as
life skills instruction are also
incorporated into training. In this
way we can address behaviors that
are not acceptable in the workplace
to better prepare them for real
employment. Many times behavioral
problems and barriers to employment
either intensify or re-emerge after
training. For this reason we conduct
follow-up services on each
participant for one year after
program exit. Follow-up services
include facilitating additional
employment as needed, providing
career counseling to promote job
retention and advancement, and
providing assistance to obtain
higher education. We provide
participants with the skills and
resources necessary to break free of
the cycle of poverty with a
rewarding career in the building
trades industry, an industry that
the Department of Labor has
identified as offering job seekers
extensive high growth and high
demand career opportunities.
Classifications of vocations within
the company:
Residential Construction
Social Service
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Level of
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Classroom visitations (guest
lecturer |
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Job
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Willing to have student
interns: |
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Mentorship |
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_______students |
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Teleconference capability |
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Workplace Readiness Skills |
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Reading |
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Work Ethic |
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Mathematics |
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Positive Attitude |
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Writing |
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Independence &
Initiative |
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Speaking and Listening |
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Self-Presentation |
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Computer Literacy |
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Attendance |
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Problem Solving |
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Team Member |
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Seeing the "Big Picture" |
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Contact Information:
2117 Smith Avenue, Bld A
Chesapeake, VA 23320
(757) 420-2566
www.tbaonline.org
Shanon Pfeiffer
spfeiffer@tbaonline.org
