Training Centre in Building Construction Established at Skoplje, Yugoslavia to Help Repair Earthquake Damage

On the 26th of July, 1963, the city of Skoplje, Yugoslavia was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake. The government has since established a training centre for building construction personnel there, and the UN Special Fund, with the International Labor Organization (ILO) as its Executing Agency, has allocated $485,600 towards the centre, while the government is contributing $661,000. The purpose of the three-year emergency programme is the training of instructors, supervisors, foremen and skilled workers in the operation and maintenance of building construction equipment, in the manufacture and assembly of prefabricated units, and in the installation of plumbing, heating and electrical equipment. The training courses involve both technological instruction and practical training.
Construction site for new glass factory, where trainees receive practical experience in operation of excavating equipment. Foreground, left to right: high instructor Petrovski Blagoja; O. St. Martin (United Kingdom), UN expert in building construction machines and maintenance; and high instructor Blagoja Simonvski.