Basic skills education has become a pressing need in the construction industry as jobs become more complex and fewer workers have needed skills. However, the construction industry lags in spending on training for entry-level workers. The Home Builders Institute (HBI) is testing a pilot basic skills program that it hopes will prove useful to the industry. HBI's basic skills classes are being held at four sites, with a goal of reaching 400 employees. Called FOUNDATIONS, the new basic skills program targets current construction workers who are unable to perform their jobs satisfactorily because of inadequate basic skills. Participants, who typically are screened and found to have between fourth- and eighth-grade skill levels, spend about 8 weeks in the open-entry/open-exit program. HBI developed the curriculum for the program from actual job-site materials submitted by construction companies. Similar programs have been developed by the bricklayers and masonry unions, the Associated General Contractors of America, Jersey City State College (which offers training in construction work for women), and the Dade County Housing Renovation Partnership (which trains welfare recipients in basic skills and job skills in construction trades). (KC)