NMCRA authorizes up to $100,000 for FIU construction trades apprenticeship aimed at North Miami residents

The North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency advisory committee voted to authorize the executive director to negotiate an interlocal agreement with the City of North Miami and Florida International University (FIU) to provide up to $100,000 in CRA funding for a construction trades apprenticeship program.

Deputy director (unnamed in the record) told the committee the program is a one-year partnership with FIU and the city that will cover three trades—electrical, plumbing and HVAC—for a cohort of about 60 students in a three- to six-month apprenticeship model. Training will take place inside the CRA boundaries, and the program will prioritize recruitment of North Miami residents.

“We will be targeting — that will be a requirement that you have to be a North Miami resident,” the deputy director said, describing residency as an eligibility condition tied to the CRA’s spend parameters. The committee also heard that FIU has run similar training in other parts of the county and that outreach and recruitment will be a joint responsibility of FIU and the CRA.

Committee members asked whether unions would participate and where instruction would take place; staff said FIU would run the curriculum and that a training location will be identified inside the CRA boundaries. The deputy director and other staff said the City of North Miami will provide co-funding and that the CRA’s $100,000 is intended to leverage FIU’s existing program.

The advisory committee moved, seconded and voted unanimously to authorize the executive director and NMCRA attorney to negotiate and finalize the interlocal agreement and related contract documents and to execute the agreements necessary to implement the program.