Talk to contractors in just about any town in the country, and the topic of labor shortages inevitably comes up. Many contractors see the problem as being chronic with no end in sight, at least while the economy remains strong. But there are companies that are trying to do something about it, with an eye toward cultivating the next generation of plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and other construction laborers.
Earlier this month Lowe’s Cos., the giant home-improvement retailer, teamed with more than 60 partners to introduce Generation T, an effort to shift negative or indifferent perceptions about the trades among students and their parents by demonstrating mobility and career opportunities that skilled trades offer.
Lowe’s and SkillsUSA hosted the first-ever Generation T Bunk Build at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. This regional community service project provided 300 students enrolled in SkillsUSA’s carpentry program the chance to work with skilled carpenters to build 100 bunk beds for the nonprofit Sleep in Heavenly Place.
Last summer, Turner Construction’s Nashville office, in partnership with the Rutherford County (Tenn.) Chamber of Commerce, conducted a Teacher Externship Program, an immersive two-week course that gives local middle-school teachers exposure to the ins and outs of the construction industry, so they can share their experiences with their students.
This is the second year this program has been offered. The first year draw five teachers, and the second 20 participants, according to Paul Lawson, Project Executive of Turner Nashville.
Lawson—who chairs the Chamber’s Rutherford Works Construction Council and is a member of its Executive Workforce Council—says that the Teacher Externship Program is part of a larger effort by the Chamber and county to expand the market’s labor force.
The two-week program gave the teachers an inside look at how a construction company works. They spent time at Turner’s office with estimators and area managers. The teachers also went into the field at one of Turner’s local active job sites: a $48 million, 95,623-sf expansion of the St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tenn., which is scheduled for completion next April. (Gresham Smith is the architect and engineer on this project.)
Lawson says the teachers “shadowed” project managers, two engineers, two supervisors, and the project’s safety manager.
Turner Nashville intends to offer this program next summer, and Lawson would like to expand the course beyond two weeks, “which is pretty quick” for giving teachers with no previous construction knowledge or hands-on understanding about what’s involved in building a building.
The program, he says, “has helped to open their eyes to what construction really is, and to dispel misconceptions about construction work,” says Lawson. “A teacher can have an impact on, what, 60 students a year.”
For teacher David Duez, the program was a revelation that he shared with his eighth-grade Career Explorations class through a series of lessons. “The kids are very interested in it,” he says. “They are young, but it doesn’t hurt to throw as much as we can at them, and if something sticks, great.”
Related Stories
| Sep 20, 2022
New Long Beach office building reflects Mid-Century Modern garden-style motif
The new Long Beach, Calif., headquarters of Laserfiche, a provider of intelligent content management and business process automation software, was built on a brownfield parcel previously considered undevelopable.
| Sep 19, 2022
New York City construction site inspections, enforcement found ‘inadequate’
A new report by the New York State Comptroller found that New York City construction site inspections and regulation enforcement need improvement.
| Sep 16, 2022
Fairfax County, Va., considers impactful code change to reduce flood risk
Fairfax County, Va., in the Washington, D.C., metro region is considering a major code change to reduce the risk from floods.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 15, 2022
Heat Pumps in Multifamily Projects
RMI's Lacey Tan gives the basics of heat pumps and how they can reduce energy costs and carbon emissions in apartment projects.
| Sep 15, 2022
Monthly construction input prices dip in August
Construction input prices decreased 1.4% in August compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data released today.
| Sep 15, 2022
First LEED Platinum, net zero and net zero water synagogue opens
Kol Emeth Center, the world’s first LEED Platinum, net zero and net zero water synagogue, opened recently in Palo Alto, Calif.
| Sep 14, 2022
Fires on Amazon warehouse roofs seemingly caused by faulty PV installations
Amazon has made installing solar panels on rooftops a key part of its ESG strategy, but a series of events last year show how challenging greening up major facilities can be.
| Sep 14, 2022
Indian tribe’s new educational campus supports culturally appropriate education
The Kenaitze Indian Tribe recently opened the Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus (Kenai River People’s Learning Place), a new education center in Kenai, Alaska.
| Sep 13, 2022
California building codes now allow high-rise mass-timber buildings
California recently enacted new building codes that allow for high-rise mass-timber buildings to be constructed in the state.
| Sep 13, 2022
Orange County opens civic center complex—one of California’s largest P3 projects
Orange County’s recently opened County Administration North (CAN) building caps an urban center development that constitutes one of California’s largest ever P3 projects.