By: WOTS Staff
Word on the Street Issue 45, July 2024
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The College of Western Idaho’s first Career Launcher class at Interfaith Sanctuary has just wrapped up. The six-week course, designed to address the skilled labor shortage in the local construction industry, has already proven successful with two participants securing jobs upon completion. David Burton was one of our proud graduates and he is now employed full time with Guho Corp, the construction company building Interfaith Sanctuary’s new shelter on State St. When David received the offer for the job he shared with our staff “that his father had been in construction when he became homeless and now he has a chance to work in construction to get out of his own homelessness.” David is so incredibly proud of himself and has so much hope for his future.
Our other graduate, Justin Tomlinson, had a significant background in construction, but when he ended up in the shelter system, he lost the opportunity to expand upon his abilities. He shared that this class allowed him to re immerse himself in construction and taught him the importance of patience and being adaptable to learning new skills, such as building a picnic table: “I’ve built houses, I’ve built universities, I’ve built hospitals, but I’ve never built anything little so I finally got to build something little.” As the first session concludes with David employed at Guho Construction, Justin is set to be employed by Interfaith Sanctuary to supervise the next construction class, focused on building Adirondack chairs. The course covered a range of skills, from measuring, using power tools, following a blueprint and practicing teamwork. For both David and Justin, the class offered a chance to reconnect with past experiences. By equipping individuals from underrepresented communities with valuable skills and job opportunities, the program invests in technical skills and the broader community’s workforce needs.