Programs Receives PA Support

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved $200,000 in funding for the next three years to support programs that prepare high school students and eligible adults for trade union apprenticeships.

In New York, the Port Authority will provide $100,000 annually to Construction Skills 2000, a non-profit organization established by the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the Building Trades Employers Association of New York City. In New Jersey, the agency will provide $100,000 per year to be split equally between two similar programs operated by the New Jersey Institute of Social Justice and the Construction Industry Advancement Program of New Jersey. These programs will be funded from April 2004 through March 2007.

Book Educates Children about Engineering

To educate young people about the work of engineers, the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York has released a booklet called "Those Amazing Engineers."

The book, published by Trilogy Publications in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is written for children ages 8 to 12 and describes how engineers, through various specialties, create and develop structures, objects and processes. ACEC New York became a charter sponsor of the initiative to help combat a crisis in engineering.\

Between 1986 to 2000, there was a 20 percent drop in students receiving bachelor degrees in engineering and, in that same time period, American industry had to recruit 115,000 engineers. The book was distributed to branch libraries in the five boroughs of New York City, government officials, educators and members of the design and construction industry.

AGC, Zurich Launch Safety Initiative

The Associated General Contractors of America and Zurich North America announced a joint nationwide education program aimed at significantly reducing soft tissue injuries on the construction site.

The program, aimed at minimizing worker compensation losses, was announced at the AGC's 85th annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. Officials from the two organizations said that, according to recent insurance industry estimates, soft tissue injuries account for 33 percent of total claims and more than 70 percent of the total cost for workers compensation losses.

GPR Institute Formed

The Ground Penetrating Radar Institute was launched in November 2003 to provide a resource for engineering professionals to learn more about GPR technology for solving transportation infrastructure problems.

Sponsors of the institute, which is headquartered at the Institute for Infrastructure Asset Management in Troy, N.Y., include representatives from academia, GPR manufacturing, service firms, state Departments of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

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