PathStone offers training, stipends and jobs to young people from Loíza
PathStone will recruit 15 young people from the town of Loíza to support them and provide them with the necessary resources to finish high school, train in the construction sector and start generating income from a job. Those who successfully complete the program will receive a $2,500 stipend.
Interested participants must be between 18 and 35, reside in Loíza and lack a high school diploma.
“Our goal is to offer them a free construction course and incorporate them in the labor market. They will also get appropriate construction field certificates, so this program will empower them to be able to successfully stand out in this sector,” said Brenda Soto, director of quality control for PathStone Corp., the company that oversees the project.
“It’s also a unique opportunity for them to get their high school diploma,” she said.
The project, sponsored by the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, will begin in October. It is presently recruiting participants. One of the program’s offerings is that it will contribute to the reconstruction of at least six homes in Loíza, which will take place as participants learn the practice.
“There’s demand in the construction sector so these young people have before them an excellent opportunity to get a job and be able to improve their quality of life and that of their families,” she said.
The project will be developed with a $239,856.86 investment from the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, thanks to a contribution from W.K. Kellogg Foundation and The Boston Foundation.
“This project is part of a broad social justice and community recovery strategy that the Puerto Rico Community Foundation promotes in Loíza to encourage the integral well-being of children, youth and families from Loíza,” said Puerto Rico Community Foundation President Nelson I. Colón-Tarrats.
“Its impact is broad since it strengthens the financial, social, human and physical capital of the participants. Through this project we’re providing them with tools to build a better future for themselves and their communities,” he said.
