Orleans/Niagara BOCES’ Adult Building Trades students recently helped to build a house in partnership with Habitat for Humanity in Niagara Falls. The Building Trades class is a 216-hour program housed at the Orleans/NIagara BOCES’ Workforce Development Center on 6th and Walnut Streets in Niagara Falls. The class, which ran from January 2024 through May 2024, worked with the Habitat for Humanity crew on Mondays and Wednesdays.
According to Building Trades Teacher Clement Hutchinson, “Working on a Habitat for Humanity house provides real-life opportunities for our students to apply their new skills. On site, these students were able to pour a foundation, build a roof, install drywall, and run wires, all skills that cannot be replicated so well in a classroom shop environment.”
Upon completion of the home in early July, the Habitat for Humanity home will be sold to a qualified low-income family through an affordable Habitat mortgage to ensure affordability. Habitat for Humanity Director Marco Notaro, a 2012 Niagara Wheatfield graduate and graduate of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES Project-Based Engineering class at the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center in Sanborn, also appreciates the partnership. “We’re so grateful for our partnership with BOCES. BOCES is a natural partner for Habitat. Their students have done fantastic and quality work on our Walnut Avenue home. The students came to the site every day with a great attitude, they’re fast learners, and they worked productively. We couldn’t have done this project without the students from BOCES.”
Two graduates of this class were hired by Barden Homes, three have applied to join construction trades unions, two are working at Home Depot, and one is using her skills to fix up her own properties while planning a move into real estate. The next class will begin September 16, 2024. Adult Skilled Trades classes at Orleans/Niagara BOCES in Niagara Falls and Lockport also include Welding, Machining, Electricity, and HVAC. Information can be found at https://wnytrades.com
Information about Habitat for Humanity can be found at https://www.niagarahabitat.org.