Progam helps put minorities, women in construction jobs

Alana Roberts

Monday, Jan. 24, 2005 | 10:37 a.m.

With commercial construction projects dotting the Las Vegas map the need for construction workers in the valley is high. Because of that demand there is a push to bring more women and minorities into the construction trades.

"There's a shortage of good workers," Bobbie Whitmore, field coordinator of the Southern Nevada Carpenters Apprenticeship Training Program, said.

Whitmore, who is black, is a 25-year member of the union and has been a field coordinator of the apprenticeship program for two years. She said there is such a need for diligent workers that the program is willing to train people with no experience, teaching them how to handle the tools and to do carpentry math.

"The thing about the market is there's a place for everyone," Whitmore said. "If you know how to use the tools there's a place for you, depending on the level you are. We're in a boom right now. It has a lot to do with the economy."

"There aren't enough apprentices joining," Gregg Bruno, field superintendent of Commercial Cabinet Co., said. "There're too many jobs now; there aren't enough skilled people. Why not spread it around to everybody?"

Michelle Tsinnijinnie, 23, who is American Indian, said when she moved here nine months ago from Arizona she had a difficult time finding a job. She is now a member of the Carpenters Union Local 1977.

"I was going here and there trying to find a job," Tsinnijinnie said.

After passing the apprenticeship exam in June, Tsinnijinnie said, she found a job quickly through the United Brotherhood of Carpenters' hiring hall. She is currently working for Commercial Cabinet Co. as an apprentice carpenter earning 60 percent of the $30 an hour a journeyman carpenter makes -- $18. She is now working at Fairfield Resorts helping to build another tower and has worked on the Wynn Las Vegas project.

Tsinnijinnie said her previous experience in construction work made it easier to pass the apprenticeship exam, which focuses on carpentry math.

Whitmore said the apprenticeship works with various organizations to bring more minorities and women into the program such as the National Association of Minority Contractors.

The NAMC Las Vegas Chapter's Careers in Construction program works to help get more minorities and women into the construction trades.

Linda Lewis, executive director of NAMC's Las Vegas Chapter and board chair of membership development of the national association, said the six-week program has been available in Las Vegas for two years. The program is offered at Nevada Partners.

The free program helps participants prepare for the apprenticeship exams of construction trades such as the Carpenters Union. Lewis said the program is funded through private donations. She declined to say how much funding the program receives or where the money comes from.

"We advocate for minorities; the program is open to everyone," Lewis said. "The students come in, they're taught 10 hours of (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) construction safety, floor planning, blueprint reading, construction math, conversion and soft skills (such as resume writing and diversity in the workplace)."

Veronica Bonds, 28, a recent graduate of the Careers in Construction program who is black, said the program was valuable in helping her find work. She now works as an apprentice carpenter for Commercial Cabinet Co. making $13.97 an hour and is also working at Fairfield Resorts.

Bonds said when she moved here from St. Louis in June with her sister, her job search was more difficult than she expected.

"When I first got here, I put my resume into all types of things," Bonds said. "I wanted to do construction but I needed a job. I tried to do casinos; I worked at a casino in St. Louis. You think, 'I can go to Las Vegas and work on the Strip.' And it's not that easy. You need more experience than you think you need."

Bonds said because she had no previous construction experience, the Careers in Construction program prepared her for the apprenticeship exam.

"It's a wonderful program," Bonds said. "You don't have to go to college (to make money). There're not a lot of black women as carpenters."

Bonds said she plans to move through the four-year apprenticeship to become a journeyman, and she hopes to eventually own her own construction business. She is doing all she can now to learn as many aspects of the business to prepare for that.

"When I move up the ladder and learn some things I see myself getting up there and trying to own my own business," Bonds said.

Bruno said anything is possible in the construction industry.

"There's no reason why they can't own their own business," Bruno said.