Non-Profit Announces Paid Masonry Restoration Internship at Green-Wood Cemetery

SUNSET PARK – Job training non-profit Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT) is taking a step in a new direction, announcing a 2018 program for masonry restoration training in conjunction with Green-Wood Cemetery.

The 10-week paid internship will teach 10 participants to care for historic stone monuments, along with marble, granite, and brownstone buildings. The course will prepare students for entry-level trade jobs, and students may be eligible to continue on for further certification and exams, preparing them for coveted union jobs.

The program differs from the signature job training programs the organization specializes in: it is a technical, hands-on training. Additionally, the age range for applicants has been expanded, allowing those from 18-27 to apply, provided they have a high school diploma or equivalent.

Applications are due February 12, 2018, and participants will have to pass a skills assessment to qualify. They’ll have to be comfortable with heights, too, as scaffold and swing-scaffold training will be a major components of the course.

Green-Wood Cemetery has many headstones and monuments that require specialized skills, and their involvement with the project provides an opportunity for experiential training. The World Monuments Fund, International Masonry Institute, and Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers are also co-sponsors of the program.

The first open house for the new program is Wednesday, December 6, from 1-4 pm at the OBT Sunset Park location, 783 4th Ave at 27th Street.