Building Futures Graduate Completes Bridge Construction Training Program

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Shortly after completing the Building Futures class in March, 2011 Marveall Gibson (left) began a new chapter in her life as a STEP UP apprentice with the IBEW.  While she enjoyed learning the electrical trade and even co-facilitated Building Futures (a program of the Community Services Agency) recruitment sessions to recruit more women, she was eager to combine her love of the trades with her vast managerial work experience.  The perfect union of these two interests was the 11th Street Bridge Construction Management Training Program, which Gibson graduated from on October 23. "I've learned so much in this program," Gibson said. "I can't wait to get to work!" A program of DC’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) On-the-Job Training Supportive Services (OJT/SS) and the 11th Street Bridge Project Team, the program "provides intensive training for underserved and underrepresented individuals by a host of construction partners as well as the opportunity to acquire certifications for ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician Soils Aggregate Compaction Technician," says Kathleen McKirchy, CSA Executive Director.  In addition to in-class instruction and hands-on experience, graduates spent time shadowing DDOT and 11th Street Bridge auditors in the field, gaining valuable experience with on-site concrete application for wall placements and approach slab construction. "Gibson's successful completion of the program is another of many collaborations between DDOT and Building Futures," adds McKirchy.  A number of Building Futures graduates have gone on to training programs at DDOT, while Linda Fennell the DBE Supportive Services Program Manager in the Business Opportunity and Workforce Development Center at DDOT often refers qualified candidates to Building Futures.