At BSRC's Rite Center, Being Green is Easier Than You Think

What do Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Danny Aiello and Fantasia all have in common? The answer is, they did not gradate from high school. All of them have a general equivalency diploma (GED).

But the list of high-profile figures with GEDs is not exclusive to entertainers: There’s also NASA astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave, Judge Greg Mathis and Ruth Ann Minner, the first female governor of Delaware. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Joe Dinguis, workshop trainer at the Rite Career Center in Restoration Plaza, pointed out all of these names to his class of about 25 adults, many of whom did not graduate from high school.

His point was obvious: Even with a GED, you can go on to achieve greatness.

Dinguis teaches work-readiness classes, the first in a three-part series of programs that prepares residents of Bed-Stuy and surrounding communities for jobs in the green construction field.

The students in his class range in age from 19 to 60, all of whom are out of work and many with no skills training. They represent all walks of life – the new immigrant seeking steady employment, the recovering addict who wants a fresh start, the elderly woman forging a career-path for the first time, and the out-of-work guy who simply wants job security to support his family.

“For all of these men and women, they’ve got nothing under their belt, so with the construction and green training as enhancement, they can get at least laborer's jobs,” said Dinguis.

The free, 11-week program takes participants through two rigorous weeks in the classroom learning work-readiness; seven weeks of OSHA and green construction training where students can get their OSHA certification; and two weeks of resume development, interview preparation and job placement.

In the green construction phase, students learn basic carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring, etc. while also gaining an enhanced skill set – green carpentry — giving them an extra leg up when they are ready to apply for a job.

“Weatherization every year is doubling its revenue value,” said Shoun Kennedy, green construction trainer at the Rite Center. “We’re taking the common person off the street with a high or low education, and giving them a skill set to get them into this fast market.”

For women in construction, there are many other fields they can get into other than picking up a hammer and swinging it, said Kennedy, including weatherization auditing, OSHA inspection, architectural design, project management, site supervision and more.

There’s a construction work lab where students get field training. And for ten hours toward the end of the construction phase, they will receive training from Ken Stelzl, a premier OSHA safety officer who is licensed to administer and deliver the OSHA exam. If they pass the exam, they will get their OSHA card.

The final phase is administered by Senior Job Developer Willie Sanchez. His relationship is that of counselor almost, in that he is responsible for helping each program participant overcome their personal fears while also ferret out their best qualities so that it shines through on their resumes

“I have to have these people trust me to come to me and say, ‘listen, I got fired from this job; I really don’t want to share this and I really don’t want to share that,’” said Sanchez who has been working as a job counselor for more than 20 years. “They can see there are no lies in here; there’s no deception here. We’re a team right now trying to get to the next level. And we can only get there together.”

But getting there starts with taking the first step to attend the two-week course. That is why, in a sense, Dinguis’s class is the most critical, because here is where the students decide whether to continue through the program or to drop out.

Luckily, retention is not a big problem for Dinguis, as for many students, the lessons gleaned in his course are the most valuable lessons they will ever receive, as far as taking control of their lives.

Fifteen minutes in Dinguis’s class is like an entire week of instruction at an Ivy League. What his students have lost in wages and time, he makes up for in rigor of instruction and utility of information. And still, there are plenty of moments of fun and laughter:

“I want this group to go into the green construction phase, because these young ladies over here should be able to build a home from scratch, with a credit line from Home Depot,” he says, pointing to the two elderly women in the room.

Within 30 minutes, Dinguis has explained how to set up a professional resume with minimal, part-time or just temp work experience; he explained why job applications become legal documents once you provide your signature; and he gave the class a master application to use to copy informationwhen applying for a job.

 “This is all I know how to do now is get people ready for work,” said Dinguis. “My job is to make them into entry level junior associates.”

“It’s been real helpful, the class,” said Brandford Charles, 50 of Crown Heights. Brandford’s brother told him about the Rite Center, after he went to Restoration Plaza to look for work four years ago, and he has been working for Verizon every since. “I’m learning how to communicate better, how to treat my co-workers. It’s a really good program.”

“We have to re-program the way people think about jobs,” said Sanchez. "Often times, people are so strapped for money, all they can think about is what they can get now, instead of where they can be tomorrow. You’re in somebody else's house, so you have to make yourself valuable to them.

“And so, we teach them that getting a job is not just about your boss owing you a paycheck every two weeks. A job is just the first step towards positioning yourself for growing in the company, and that everything you do should be about making yourself invaluable and increasing your chances for growth.”

The Green Construction Program facilitated by the A-Team at the Rite Center represents a clear path to skills development, job readiness and employment -- an oasis in a job dessert.

“By the time you finish this course, we are going to create a resume for you that is going to make you cry,” said Dinguis. “Happy tears, of course!”

To find out how you can enroll in the free 10-week Green Construction Training program, call 718-636-6939.