Turner Construction Company Selects Newark's Technology High School for the 2008-2010 YouthForce 2020 Program

Today, Turner Construction Company of New Jersey announced the selection of Technology High School in Newark, NJ to participate in the 2008-2010 YouthForce 2020 program. Technology High School is the second Newark school to be selected by Turner, following last year's successful completion of a two-year program at Vailsburg Middle School.

Students who are enrolled in relevant construction courses at the 10th and 12th grade level at Technology High School will be instructed by Turner employees on a variety of topics. Topics were chosen to showcase the diversity of the construction industry and include lessons in green building and LEED certifications, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Web technology, estimating, marketing, presentation skills and architectural plan reading. Turner Construction will also host a special site visit at one of their New Jersey jobsites for all participants. The curriculum is also accompanied by hands-on projects and activities designed to apply "real world" mathematical and problem solving skills to their learning.

"The value of education is immeasurable," said Thomas V. Reilly, Vice President and General Manager for Turner. "Through the YouthForce 2020 program students learn more than just how to construct a building. Instead, they are exposed to various careers within construction and quickly learn of the many opportunities available to them," Reilly said.

The objectives of the Youth Force 2020 program are to stress the importance and value of "going to school and staying in school," to introduce students to the construction industry as a viable career path and to establish a mentoring relationship with students.

"For the past two years, our involvement in Newark has been very strong due to the success of the Vailsburg Middle School YouthForce 2020 program. With our new commitment to Technology High School, we are looking forward to continuing our involvement in Newark and running another successful YouthForce program," said Dexter Hendricks, Community Affairs Director for Turner New Jersey.

The YouthForce 2020 Program has adopted hundreds of America's schools for almost 20 years. Since its inception in 1989, thousands of students have successfully completed the program and have gone on to colleges, universities and other continuing education opportunities. Every year, approximately 300 students complete the YouthForce 2020 program nationwide.

For more information on Turner Construction's New Jersey community involvement please visit www.turnerconstruction.com/newjersey.

About Turner Construction Company

Turner is the leading general builder in the U.S., ranking first or second in all major segments of the building construction field. During 2007, Turner completed $9.6 billion of construction. Turner is the only builder offering clients a nationwide network of offices across the U.S. Founded in 1902, the firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, one of the world's leading international construction service providers. For more information, visit Turner's website at www.turnerconstruction.com.