For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Daniel Santo Pietro - (732) 828-7606

Julie A. Jerome - (732) 828-7606

A program to recruit women and minorities into the
construction trade unions is the focus of a $300,000 grant recently
awarded to the Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey by the New
Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The goal of the Middlesex County Construction Trades Training
program grant is to graduate 30 participants from a pre-apprenticeship
training program, and assist them with placement in union construction
apprenticeships or quality construction-related employment. The union
trades seek quality individuals every year to enter into their
apprenticeship programs. The program graduates will provide a highly
qualified pool of potential apprentices from which the union trades can
have confidence drawing from.

"Traditionally, women and minorities are underrepresented in
the construction trades and this grant aims to address that imbalance,"
said Daniel Santo Pietro, executive director of HDANJ. "These are high
paying jobs that offer real opportunities for those willing to work hard
and achieve their dreams. We are pleased to help make this opportunity
available to a wider range of individuals."

The project will focus its recruitment efforts in the cities of Perth
Amboy and New Brunswick. HDANJ will coordinate the program with a
consortia of partners, including the various building trades, the
Middlesex County One-Stop Centers, two of HDANJ's member agencies - the
Puerto Rican Action Board in New Brunswick and the Puerto Rican
Association for Human Development in Perth Amboy. Also included are two
faith-based partners, the First Baptist Community Development Corp. in
Somerset, and Cathedral International in Perth Amboy. Other community
and faith-based organizations will be assisting with recruitment and
marketing outreach.

HDANJ is the umbrella organization for 30 Latino community-based
organizations across New Jersey serving hundreds of thousands of clients
a year.

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