Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, CA, November 10, 2017 – A group of active duty military personnel is taking the first step in their transition to civilian life by learning a new trade and industry management skills as part of a 12-week program sponsored by the Concrete Preservation Institute (CPI). The program trains the soon-to-be veterans in hands-on projects repairing concrete landmark structures at Alcatraz Island, which is a National Park Service (NPS) site. The program helps the active duty participants get ahead of the veteran-to-civilian transition curve and avoid unemployment and underemployment.
“We provide valuable career development opportunities for our deserving service members and train the critically-needed workforce for the concrete industry facing a shortage of skilled tradespeople and managers required to build and fix our country’s infrastructure,” said CPI President and CEO Tanya Komas. “CPI is a win- win-win public-private partnership that repairs deferred maintenance projects that may not otherwise be completed on National Park Service sites with irreplaceable cultural heritage.”
CPI’s Field School is an official U.S. military Career Skills Program offered in partnership with the National Park Service at Alcatraz Island and Pearl Harbor’s Battleship Row in Hawaii. Averaging over a million visitors a year at each site, the popular NPS sites face deferred maintenance issues also plaguing overall U.S. infrastructure. CPI’s work increases visitor safety and access, while preparing the trainees to transition out of the military and begin civilian careers in infrastructure, construction, and concrete.
CPI holds three 12-week, full time sessions per year at each location. Service members remain on active duty while training, receive hands-on technical and management skills, and can earn professional certifications upon passing examinations. CPI then connects candidates with industry employers, who actively seek to hire qualified individuals in concrete repair, new construction, material production, transportation, business, sales, operations, safety, and other construction-related areas.
CPI’s Alcatraz Island Field School began eight years ago with college students and military veterans; going forward, it will continue to focus on active duty military. CPI will hold a graduation ceremony to honor the current class (which includes one veteran) on November 15th, 2017, at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
