The Associated General Contractors of Alaska is working with the Matanuska-Susitna School District to build a construction career academy to encourage and prepare high-school students for careers in the industry.
The academy is expected to enroll its first 80 or so students in the 2007-08 school year, said Kris Forrester, director of career and technology education for the Mat-Su district.
While its still in the planning phase, the academy will be much like a vocational school program. The major difference, organizers say, is that the entire curriculum will focus on construction.
"Students who chose a career in construction will have hands-on learning at the academy," said Vicki Schneibel, AGC training director. "But math will be a critical element in their learning. In English, for example, they'll write resumes, program reports, everything, all in the language of construction."
It's part of the Mat-Su district's four-year plan to launch a career academy that offers students an education in such areas as auto mechanics and welding in addition to construction, Forrester said.
The goal is to help young people figure out what they want to be when they grow up and help put them on the path to better achieve that goal. When they complete the career "pathway," upon graduating high school, then they'll be ready to enter the workforce, go on to an apprenticeship or begin post-secondary education.
The district already has built a significant pathway for construction education, Forrester said. Students can take courses in drafting, woods and there's even a class that builds a house from the ground up then sells it.
It has partnerships with contracting companies to work in classrooms. It has an apprenticeship program with unions, where students spend half a day at school and the other half in training. Some classes are certified to offer college credit.
"We could call it an academy right now, and we'd probably be doing better than many who call themselves an academy now," Forrester said. "But I'm a perfectionist; I want to make sure we're ready to rock 'n roll before we officially call it that."
After high-schoolers complete the program, they could be certified in specific areas and have gained college credit.
"For high-school kids it's great," said Dick Cattanach, executive director of the AGC. "In traditional apprenticeship programs, they didn't care what you know; you started with square one. But that's changed now. They look at what you bring in and start your training from there. These graduates could start a second-year apprenticeship, with a pay increase and more responsibility."
Building academy
There are several construction career academies in the nation associated with their local AGC chapters, including programs in San Antonio, Omaha, Neb., and in Reno, Nev.
One of the more successful programs is at East Ridge High School, in Chattanooga, Tenn. This school-within-a-school program opened to students in 2002, and has since recorded statistics that every parent wants to see on her child's report card.
The number of failing grades from students dropped 30 percent, as the average grade point average rose from 2.26 to 3.34. The daily percentage of absences dropped from 11 percent in 2001 to about 3 percent in 2003.
About a quarter of the students went to work in the industry right after graduating and another 25 percent or so went on to post-secondary education. Several more entered the military. About a third of the graduates went on to do something outside construction, said John Heffner, executive director of training and education for AGC National.
"Those kids are not considered to be failures," he said. "Some of the kids were classified as at-risk. What we did may have helped them get through school. And it's possible that they will come back to us, but even if they never come back, they understand the industry better now and that's to our advantage."
During an open house there last year, students told visitors they were challenged by their classes, but they felt they were learning things they could use in the real world, Heffner said.
"They weren't coming home and saying, 'Why am I learning this?' or 'When am I ever going to use this?'" Heffner said. "They are taking math and English with the same objectives as students outside the academy, the difference is in how the subject matter is presented in class."
The Mat-Su's Forrester is planning to expand her district's program statewide, she said. Future plans include expanding to offer rural students distance delivery. These students may have to travel to the school for a few weeks a year for the hands-on portion or maybe come in during the summers.
It may also include a train the trainer program to certify journeymen and other construction workers throughout the state so they can teach rural students certain portions of the curriculum.
The curriculum will also broaden to include more industry leaders, Forrester said. The partnership base will grow.
"We are building the house while we're living in it," Forrester said. "The ultimate goal is that we want to prepare the students ... They'll know the connections to the next step, whether it's going straight out to get a job or entering into an apprenticeship or going to post-secondary (education). We want them to live and work in Alaska, take those high-paying jobs and build the state."
AGC next year hopes to begin work to help educate 18- to 24-year-olds in the construction trades, possibly through a community college. This would be ideal for those late in making a career choice or for those who failed the high school exit exam, Cattanach said.
