Interest, Excitement Over Construction/Building Trades Class

(SOME OF THOSE ON HAND THURSDAY NIGHT AT EFFINGHAM CITY HALL TO HEAR ABOUT THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION/BUILDING TRADES COURSE)

About 30 contractors and other business owner/operators voiced support and enthusiasm Thursday night for a proposed construction and building trades course. The course would train high school students in the county in a format mirroring the CEO Class.

City Commissioners Don Althoff and Brian Milleville became interested when they heard from a local bricklayer that a large percentage of those in our area working in that trade would soon be retiring. That led the commissioners to wonder where the replacements would come from. When a satisfactory answer wasn't forthcoming, meetings began to address the issue.

Thursday's meeting was to gauge the interest of the construction industry, and to see where financial support for the class would be forthcoming. The meeting was led by Milleville and Althoff along with local entrepreneur Bob Schultz, Mike Wente of Wente Plumbing and Fire Protection, and Altamont Community High School Principal Jerry Tkachuk.

Plans are to begin the class in the 2015-16 school year and organizers hope to involve high school students from throughout the county. The first year instruction would be introductory while the second year would be hands-on construction.

Schultz said the group is looking for three things: a building in which the class can meet; those in the construction trades to make presentations to the class members; and those who would open their facilities to tours by the class members.

Wente hopes the class will help those students interested in the program better know what they might want to pursue by exposing them to various building trades, or will help them know that it isn't what they want to pursue, after all.

Milleville said they want hands-on involvement by the construction community, not just contributions of cash or tools. Tkachuk said Lake Land College, which is overseeing the course, "absolutely" has indicated they want that classroom input.

Althoff indicated that Lake Land is still looking for someone to teach the class.

Joedy Hightower of the Effingham County Community Foundation was present and shared that if the program is patterned after CEO, it will need an advisory board and stressed that it will be a "working board", not just a board in name only.

Tkachuk said others outside the county are already interested in the idea, as has been the case with CEO. He said, "There is nothing else like this in the county; there's nothing like this in 10 counties." He said his goals for the program are that students who complete the course will have the skills to go to work for the area contractors, that the contractors will have continuing input on what skillset the participants need since the needs might change, and to have "three or four of you fighting over a graduate; then we'll know we're doing our job."

The success of CEO has been followed by early enthusiasm for the Welding class being offered at Effingham High School. Principal Jason Fox said the plan was to offer one section of the class, but interest led them to offer an additional section.

There was discussion of the need, as is also the case with CEO, for those in the construction community to financially support the program. Schultz asked estimating engineer Charlie Meyer of J.B. Esker and Sons whether the assurance that students who want to go to work for them are trained to go work is worth a contribution to the class of $1,000 a year, and Meyer answered, "absolutely". 

A major goal is to contact guidance counselors to get their input and their support for the program, since they'd be most likely to know the students who would be good candidates for the class.

The implementation of the class will move quickly; the hope is to take applicants for the class (again like CEO) in December, since Lake Land needs its curriculum locked in for next year in January. The applicants will be considered in a blind application process; those evaluating candidates for the class will not know who submitted the application before they are selected.

The matter will go before the Effingham City Council in the near future; there has been informal discussion about the City earmarking TIF dollars to fund the first couple years of the program.