Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
BEDFORD – The Skilled Trades Showcase drew more than 300 high school students and nearly 20 exhibitors to StoneGate Arts & Education Center in downtown Bedford Thursday.
Students came from 11 school corporations in seven counties – Daviess, Lawrence, Martin, Jackson, Orange, Owen and Monroe. An afternoon session allowed the public to attend.
The event’s purpose was to bring career awareness to young people and adults interested in construction skilled trades and help them find out about apprenticeships and training.
Nationally, almost half of the construction workforce is expected to retire by 2031, but less than 8% of high school graduates and just 14% of college graduates are pursuing careers in construction. It is predicted that 546,000 workers will need to be hired in 2023 in order to meet the construction industry’s demands.
In 2022, the industry averaged nearly 400,000 job openings per month.
Lynn Busby is director of community outreach for Built to Succeed, an Indiana nonprofit that partnered with StoneGate to organize the showcase.
“Decades ago, public education began moving away from technical and vocational education to encourage students to go to college,” Busby said. “Now there’s this huge need for plumbers, pipe fitters, tradesmen, and carpenters. Whether it’s in advanced manufacturing or construction, there’s just not a skilled trade workforce.”
Career centers offer pathways for students to explore. Busby said even with that exposure, students often don’t know all the skills and jobs in construction, Busby said.
“Students will say they are interested in construction, but what they don’t know is it takes at least 14 different types of construction to build a building like we’re in right now,” she said.
They may know about electricians and HVAC installers, but they don’t know about the painters, glaziers, insulators and sheet metal workers.
Hands-on learning
In the parking lot behind StoneGate, was a mini excavator where students could practice their skills in picking up objects. Inside, several exhibitors brought simulators for the students to try out.
Draven Eads, a senior at the North Lawrence Career Center, came to the showcase with his welding class. He said he is interested in a manufacturing job after high school but after visiting the skilled trades showcase, he realized the many different opportunities in skilled trades.
He practiced his skills on the welding simulator at the booth manned by the Iron Workers Local No. 70 out of Louisville.
Brandon Martinez, a first-year ironworker apprentice from Clarksville, talked to students about the opportunities of the ironworker trade. He said he loves his job.
“Right now, I’m working on a job at Churchill Downs, building a paddock,” he said.
Mitchell High School brought 18 students to the showcase.
“Every representative at the event was passionate about sharing the world of construction with our students!” said Apryl Kidd, director of the Collaboration of Shoals, Mitchell, Orleans Schools. “As students began to explore the tools and equipment on display you could see the view of their world of work grow. I think students were surprised about the types of apprenticeships available to them and the benefits of working in a skilled trade.”
Career vs. job
Experiences like that reinforce the need for Built to Succeed to continue reaching out to students across Indiana.
“I have educators tell me all the time, ‘Students have to see it to believe it. Most construction is not accessible to the public. This brings that exposure to students,” Busby said.
Since 2013, Indiana’s union construction industry has increased its apprentice intake by 78%. In 2022, more than 8,200 apprentices were enrolled in training programs. In fact, 71% of active apprentices in Indiana’s construction industry receive their training from a union training program.
Ryan Griffith, a union electrician who works for McIntyre Bros. in Bedford, urged the students to ask themselves if they want a job or a career when considering their work future.
“A career is something you can put your soul into,” Griffith said. “You can point to a building and say, ‘I helped build that.’”
Building a structure that will last generations and volunteering to hang Christmas lights on the downtown square are some of the experiences that he’s proud to be part of as a union electrician.
McIntyre Bros. has between 15-20 union electricians. The third-generation company’s primary focus is utility sub-station work.
Apprenticeship programs typically last two to five years; the apprentices are paid to work and learn, said Busby.
Each year, the Indiana Union Construction Industry makes a private industry investment of more than $54 million in apprenticeship training through jointly managed apprenticeship programs. The Indiana Union Construction Industry’s apprenticeship programs are self-funded and offered with zero tuition costs to students.
Through a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College, more than 20,000 apprentices from the Indiana Union Construction Industry have earned an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science from Ivy Tech Community College. This two-year degree is earned at no additional cost to the student and is a direct result of Ivy Tech’s partnership with the Indiana Union Construction Industry.
Ronnie Harrell manned a booth for Local Plumbers and Steamfitters. He said most students are familiar with what the work entails.
“Some kids are very hands-on kids and they’re the most interested,” Harrell said. “We’re not experiencing a shortage of workers that some of the other trades are. We actually have more applicants than we have jobs so we still go through an interview process and select the best candidates.”
The shortage of workers in construction extends beyond skilled trades, Busby said. There is also a need for estimators, graphic designers and human resources personnel.
Explore a career in skilled trades
The Indiana Careers in Construction Association is the point of entry into the union construction industry. Potential apprentices can research trades, learn more about admission requirements and utilize a common application that allows them to learn more about several trades at one time. You find out more about this initiative at www.builttosucceed.org.