The Arizona Department of Transportation's (ADOT) free Construction Academy has certified 27 members of the Pascua Yaqui tribe for work on tribal construction projects, according to an ADOT press release.

Participants of a series of weekend projects in the Pascua Yaqui Reservation Tribal Employment Rights Organization Construction Academy earned qualifications to work on road projects on the reservation, which is southwest of Tucson.

Fifteen participants will work as flaggers on road projects administered by the Tribal Employment Rights Organization, with the remaining 12 participants serving as general laborers, according to the release. After six months, they'll switch roles.

“The Pascua Yaqui tribe is expanding its horizons by offering increased opportunity for learning, particularly with our youth,” Tribal Chairman Robert Valencia said in the release. “We are very interested in developing additional programs similar to the Construction Academy in the very near future and have very high expectations that the outcomes of this Academy will be successful.”

Construction Academy programs are designed to dissolve barriers within the construction industry that have made it difficult for women and minorities to obtain work, the release said. The programs also help participants earn apprenticeship and become journeymen.