[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 96 (Tuesday, July 16, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      PHILADELPHIA HOUSING AUTHORITY'S PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM

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                         HON. ROBERT A. BORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 16, 2002

  Mr. BORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of the upcoming graduation 
services of the latest class of the Philadelphia Housing Authority's 
Pre-Apprenticeship building, maintenance and construction trades 
program.
  This will be the seventh graduating class of this model program that 
originated in 1999. Carl R. Greene, the Executive Director of the 
Philadelphia Housing Authority is proud of the program that will enable 
residents of public housing to improve their lives by providing them 
with skills to secure meaningful employment.
  The program has won recognition from the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development and the Department of Labor. It is also supported by 
the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, Metropolitan 
Regional Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of 
America, Cement Masons Local Union 592, International Brotherhood of 
Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 21, International 
Brotherhood of Electrical workers, Local Union 98, Laborers' Local 332, 
and Plumbers Union Local 690.
  The Pre-Apprenticeship program provides vocational and educational 
skills through a hands-on, 21-week training program designed to help 
participants pass the apprenticeship test for the construction unions. 
Upon completion of the program, graduates can work in the construction 
industry as qualified apprentices. The trainees will work with PHA and 
union contractors to rehabilitate, modernize and build at various 
Housing Authority properties.
  PHA continues to be nationally recognized for its innovation in 
public housing. It has the distinction of being the first housing 
authority in America to be designed by the Institute of Real Estate 
Management (IREM) of the National Association of Realtors as an 
``Accredit Management Operation.'' This designation is awarded to firms 
engaged in property management, which have met IREM's high standards in 
the areas of education, experience, integrity, and financial stability.

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