Employment
Reaching America’s Youth
By
Aug 25, 2005, 21:44

(ARA) - With a labor shortage looming in the not-so-distant future, the need to train, educate and reach out to the youth of America will be essential to growing the work force. The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) recognizes this labor shortage as an opportunity to encourage youth, especially young women, to choose construction as a life-long career.
This school year, the organization’s Education Foundation will deliver that message to children of all ages through a series of programs specially designed for specific age groups. The Block-Kids building program introduces elementary school-aged children to the construction industry in an effort to create an awareness of and to promote an interest in future careers in one of the many facets of the industry. For sixth through ninth graders, there’s the Foundation’s Building Design Program, which is structured to introduce construction in a positive and fun manner while presenting challenges in math, communication and design. The third program, which is designed for senior high students, is the CAD/Design Drafting Scholarship Competition. This contest provides recognition to students for creative design, successful problem solving, and craftsmanship in preparing architectural drawings.

Another way America’s youth are being introduced into nontraditional trades is through Job Corps. The no-cost education and vocational training program, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, helps young people ages 16 to 24 get better jobs, make more money and take control of their lives. At Job Corps, students enroll to learn a trade, earn a high school diploma or GED and get help finding a job. Upon joining the program, students are paid a monthly allowance; the longer a student stays with the program, the more the allowance increases. Job Corps supports its students for up to 12 months after they graduate.

The gap between Job Corps’ need for high-quality, construction industry partners and the industry’s need for trained, entry-level workers has finally been filled. Industry partners include BE&K Construction, Becon Construction Company, Fluor Corp., Granite Construction Inc., The Industrial Company (TIC) and The Shaw Group. These leading industrial, commercial and heavy highway construction companies have joined forces with the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) to create a national youth and work force development entity -- the Youth Training and Development Consortium (YTDC).

YTDC is a dynamic bridge between Job Corps and young workers. YTDC benefits Job Corps students by giving them access to higher paying careers and educational opportunities offered though subscribing contractors. The YTDC, through the nationwide job opportunities offered by its members, will work directly with Job Corps to transition students into rewarding careers and opportunities available to them in the construction industry. Job Corps brings YTDC the potential for more than 24,000 new, entry-level craft workers through a national base of 118 Job Corps training centers, strategically located where the demand for new workers seeking construction careers is high.

YTDC and Job Corps can build a powerful bridge between Job Corps’ need for construction industry partners and the need of YTDC members for trained, entry-level craftspeople. YTDC is built upon successful contractors that have implemented the standardized training and/or assessment processes developed by NCCER for training and assessing construction, maintenance, heavy highway and pipeline industry craft professionals. NCCER, in cooperation with YTDC, will assist Job Corps in aligning and implementing NCCER’s industry-recognized curriculum, assessments and standardized processes with Job Corps’ current craft training programs.

YTDC members, working with NCCER, may also participate with Job Corps by assisting current Job Corps instructors in obtaining NCCER craft instructor certification and by supporting local training centers to ensure they meet the standards for NCCER accredited training. As a result, students will leave Job Corps with industry recognized credentials that can qualify them for higher wages, better benefits and the opportunity to continue their training with the support of a progressive industry-leading contractor.

These partnerships between YTDC, the U.S. Job Corps and prominent construction-industry representatives will help continue training and educating young workers for America’s future construction needs.

To find out more about NAWIC and its education programs visit www.nawic.org. To find out more about YTDC and its partnerships, visit www.ytdc.org.
Courtesy of ARA Content

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