McCarthy introduces high school students to a career in construction

Employees from McCarthy Building Companies recently gave students of Century High School in Santa Ana a first look at CHOC Children’s new 425,524-sf patient tower, which is nearing construction completion.

The tour was held in conjunction with the ACE (Architecture, Construction and Engineering) Mentor Program of America, a partnership with building industry professionals and school educators who work together to teach high school age students about the various career opportunities available within the architectural design, engineering and construction fields.

In the ACE Mentor Program, industry professionals, such as those at McCarthy, volunteer to become mentors to high school students in order to introduce them to the professions and encourage them to pursue studies and careers in these fields. In return, the construction industry, which is anticipating a shortage of skilled workers as the baby boomer generation continues to retire, gets a much-needed boost of new talent.

McCarthy has participated in the ACE Mentor program for 10 years, and each year the firm teams with an architect or engineer to give students a comprehensive view of what it’s like to work in the building industry.

This year, McCarthy is teaming with Tom Nusbickel, AIA, the lead ACE Mentor for Century High School, to mentor approximately 25 students from Century High School in Santa Ana. Rebecca Holliman is the teacher in charge of the group at Century High School. BD+C

We offer the following recommendations in the hope that they will help step up the pace of high-performance building reconstruction in the U.S. and Canada. We consulted many experts for advice, but these recommendations are solely the responsibility of the editors of Building Design+Construction. We welcome your comments. Please send them to Robert Cassidy, Editorial Director: rcassidy@sgcmail.com.