Virgin Islands residents interested in the Coker Construction Crafts Training Program should contact Bechtel International at (340) 778-4505 or 778-1440. Training registrations are accepted at the Virgin Islands Labor Department located at the Sunny Isle Shopping Center.
      Already more than 250 individuals on St. Croix have enrolled in the crafts training in welding, pipefitting, electrical, millwright, civil, and instrumentation crafts in preparation for the building of the Coker Plant at the HOVENSA Refinery. The Construction Crafts Training Program was designed to increase the chances of employment for residents of the Virgin Islands.
      Bechtel International, a HOVENSA Contractor,spearheads the training program in collaboration with the St. Croix Educational Complex and Vocational Training Center.
      The program uses "Wheels of Learning" curriculum developed by National Center for Construction Education and Research. The standardized and accredited training, valued at $4000 per trainee, is free to eligible applicants. Prospective trainees must pass a pre-employment drug test, and a literacy test at no less than the 8th grade level.
      A visit the Bechtel Web site states that "for more than a century, Bechtel has worked on more than 19,000 projects in 140 nations on all seven continents. It also states that "the Bechtel Foundation responds to the needs of the communities around the world in which Bechtel has offices or major projects, awarding more than $2 million in grants each year, including aid to colleges & universities and an exciting educational program known as JASON. In addition, Bechtel works with an organization called NACME to help minorities in engineering." To learn more about Bechtel visit their Web site: www.bechtel.com