Ten people from Richmond and Scotland Counties have new jobs thanks to a partnership between Richmond Community College and BE&K, a KBR company, of Birmingham, Alabama. The 10 students graduated Dec. 16 from a Quicktrain course established by BE&K to train prospective employees as helpers who will progress to become skilled craft journeymen. BE&K was awarded the construction contract for the expansion of Progress Energy’s Richmond Plant.

Construction has begun and should be completed by the end of 2010. The graduates begin work in

January.

BE&K training manager Mittie Cannon said the industrial construction company begins a community outreach program when it enters a new community and works to form relationships with businesses, industries, and educational systems. They look to Workforce Training Centers, Employment Security Commissions, and chambers of commerce to establish dialogues to begin the Quicktrain classes and train prospective employees from local communities.

RCC Director of Pre-Employment Programs Carlotta Knotts said this is the first opportunity RCC has had to participate. She said the students were all unemployed or dislocated workers who have gone through

RCC’s Employability Lab.

“The lab work includes developing resumes, reviewing workplace ethics and behavior, and developing computer skills. Several of these Quicktrain graduates have been unemployed for up to two years. You have to work on self-esteem issues when you’ve been out of work that long.

“You have to convince them to not give up on finding employment. It’s a good program and we are delighted to have provided these students the skills they needed to move into BE&K’s Quicktrain course,” she said.

Cannon said the six-week, 45-hour program focuses on safety, power and hand tools, construction math, blueprint reading, basic rigging, and business ethics codes.

“When they complete the training, they are guaranteed employment and are credentialed by the National Center for Construction Education and Research. The credential is nationally recognized and in the cornerstone of our craft training,” she said.

Crystal Leviner of Rockingham was the only female in the group. She has worked in the construction field before and wants to make a career with BE&K.

“I like physical labor and looking at a finished product and knowing I had a hand in creating it,” she said.

“At first, you’re hesitant because you’ve been out of school for awhile, but the instructors made us comfortable,” Donahue DeBerry said.

RCC offers the services of its Employability Lab free of charge to unemployed and underemployed adults interested in improving the skill sets and developing job seeking skills.