Community Based Services | Melwood

In partnership with the College of Southern Maryland, Building Paths consists of both construction pre-apprenticeship credentialing and professional development training. The program is designed to ensure participants are equipped with the technical know-how to enter the construction and skilled trades field through a job or apprenticeship program.

The skilled trades continue to have a high demand for workers, while people with disabilities remain underemployed, pointing to a natural solution – leveraging the untapped potential and talent of people with disabilities while creating an opportunity for meaningful employment.

Since 1996, the Workforce Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) has helped millions of Americans find jobs and produced over $1 billion in tax savings to employers who hire people with disabilities. Through this program, Melwood can help employers maximize this added benefit while working with people with disabilities to launch their careers.

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Interested in learning more or signing up for our next cohort?
Contact: Elizabeth Foster at [email protected]

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Melwood’s Building Paths is a 14-week program offered in partnership with the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) through their Workforce Center and the Maryland Center for Environmental Training. Training is held at the Melwood Country Lane campus in Waldorf, Maryland and at the CSM campus in Hughesville. College coursework is delivered online with in-person facilitation. Additionally, there is an in-person Construction Core Lab class designed to develop construction trade application skills. The college training will follow the CSM construction pre-apprenticeship credentialing. A post-instruction career development phase follows the 14-week instruction.

In the News:

Melwood Participants Hone Construction Skills, Build a More Inclusive Workforce Thanks to CSM Partnership

Resources:

2024 Building Paths Brochure

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Ability to set up and climb/descend an extension
ladder, demonstrating proper three-point contact
and safe manual lifting techniques
Ability to inspect, don, fit, and remove the PPE
clothing/items
Ability to use construction tools, such as: hammer
or demolition tool; chisel or punch; torque wrench;
pliers; wire cutters; file; utility knife; shovel or other
earth tool; crosscut saw. and chain fall or hoist
Ability to make a straight, square cut in framing
lumber using a crosscut saw
Ability to use safely the following construction
tools, such as electric drill; hammer drill or
rotary hammer; circular saw; reciprocating saw;
portable band saw; miter or cutoff saw; portable
or bench grinder; pneumatic nail gun; and a
pavement breaker
Ability to interpret a set of instructions for properly
donning a safety harness and then orally instruct
another person on how to don the harness.
Ability to inspect a typical power cord and GFCI
to ensure their serviceability
Demonstrate knot tying
Demonstrate the proper ASME Emergency Stop
hand signal
Ability to read and interpret construction drawings
(blueprints) and fill out a work-related form
Ability to compute and interpret mathematical
concepts and diagrams