HONOLULU – Gov. Linda Lingle has released a $1 million grant-in-aid to the Hawai'i Building Industry Foundation for the construction of a training center in Waipahu.

The new Construction Training Center of the Pacific will provide a permanent home for HBIF's continuing education and certification programs, as well as its successful Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training program, which offers 160 hours of instruction on the basic principles of construction for students interested in entering the building industry.

In addition to administering the program, HBIF offers scholarships to deserving students who cannot afford the tuition, with a focus on assisting underprivileged residents working multiple jobs to make a living wage.

According to a recent study conducted by the Hawai'i Institute of Public Affairs, Hawai'i will require an additional 9,400 construction workers through the year 2012. Part of this shortfall is due to the anticipated retirement of 30 percent of Hawai'i's construction workforce during the next four to five years.

Currently, HBIF borrows space from various organizations to hold its 12-week PACT program. New classes begin every six to eight weeks and comprise 12 students each.

The new Construction Training Center in Waipahu will house multiple classrooms, a trade shop, computer lab, library, meeting rooms and conference center, and will be large enough so that HBIF can start a new PACT class every four weeks.

"If we don't have enough skilled construction workers in Hawai'i, affordable housing projects will invariably be delayed or take longer to build," said Dan Davidson, executive director of the Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corporation. "Through its training programs, HBIF is helping to ensure that the current and future workforce needs of our entire construction industry are met and that more Hawai'i residents have access to higher-paying jobs."

The total cost of the new Construction Training Center of the Pacific is estimated to be $4.8 million. The remainder of the project cost is being covered by funds from the federal Economic Development Administration and private donations. Construction is scheduled to be completed in March 2009.

"The new training center will bring our classes under a single roof," said Karen Nakamura, executive director of the Hawai'i Building Industry Foundation. "This will strengthen our overall program by helping us organize classes and coordinate trainers from the field more efficiently and by increasing the number of students and workers we can reach."