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Building the Next Generation of Builders

April 29, 2015

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At Brasfield & Gorrie, we know the future of our industry depends on the next generation. With a looming shortage in the construction workforce, we are doing our part to help bridge the gap by building the future generation of builders.

As part of our efforts, we are partnering with local high school programs to introduce students to construction careers.

For instance, in Birmingham, we have partnered with the Birmingham Education Foundation and the Huffman High School Construction Academy.  As part of this partnership, students have received hands-on learning, touring our jobsites, interacting with trades, and being exposed to field training.

Huffman-HS-4.8.15-MMG-webAs the school year wraps up, the students recently visited our corporate headquarters, where they reviewed what they had learned, heard from Founder and Chairman Miller Gorrie, and interacted with a panel of co-ops and employees.

We’re also working with Tennessee’s Dickson County School District to help introduce high school students to construction careers. As part of this new initiative, students in the district’s residential and commercial construction programs recently toured our H.G. Hill Sylvan Heights jobsite in Nashville, getting an up-close look at construction in action on the site of this future mixed-use development.

Dickson-County-Schools-jobsite-tour-300x200pngAnother way we are working to introduce students to construction careers is through involvement with the ACE Mentor Program, which mentors high school students and inspires them to pursue careers in architecture, construction, and engineering.

By not only introducing students to the kinds of careers available in construction, but actually helping them see themselves in these roles, we hope to lay a foundation for a strong construction workforce for years to come.

With the industry projected to grow 21.4 percent between 2012 and 20221 while grappling with an aging workforce and lingering effects of the economic downturn, there should be no shortage of opportunities for students if they choose to build a career in construction.

1 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics