By The Business Times Staff
Copyright thebusinesstimes
Second year brings growth spurt for Careers in Construction program
Tim Harty, The Business Times
Last school year was like framing a house for Careers in Construction Colorado when it got Palisade High School to offer its classes.
This school year, it’s putting on the roof and tacking on siding as the program expanded into Grand Junction and Fruita Monument high schools and the School District 51 Career Center.
CICC’s hope is its curriculum will make its way into Central High School next school year, and at that point more District 51 students will be making their way into construction and skilled-trade internships and jobs in the area or taking their certifications and career certainty to a school like Colorado Mesa University Tech to further their education.
Careers in Construction Colorado ultimately is benefitting two groups in the Grand Valley.
It’s offering students the opportunity to learn about skilled trades and experience them in a way that helps them determine whether they want to pursue a career in the trades.
For contractors in the Grand Valley, CICC is building a pipeline to supply skilled young workers, which they’re going to need.
STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
Providing Career Opportunities
What does Careers in Construction Colorado ultimately provide School District 51 students? That’s a question well-suited for Crystal Green, Palisade High’s work-based learning coordinator. She got a good look at the program last year and knows what Grand Junction and Fruita Monument high schools can expect this school year.
“CICC allows students to have robust options for career exploration and jump starting careers,” Green wrote in an email interview. “Students that engage in the CICC program earn industry-recognized credentials, allowing them to be immediately hirable in our local workforce.
“Students are also engaging with industry professionals, taking field trips to see the many facets of construction and industry, and utilizing industry tools in the classroom. Students will graduate with employability skills, experience, education and credentials, ultimately ready to bolster our local economy.”
Green said she believes there are approximately 200 students participating in CICC throughout the district this school year.
Integrating CICC in Schools
To make CICC a success, Green said there is a full team implementing the curriculum and overseeing major operations in conjunction with the Housing and Building Association of Western Colorado, a not-for-profit organization that describes itself as “committed to advancing the building industry throughout the Mesa, Delta and Montrose counties.”
Green said Karrie Kuklish-Gutzwiller, an HBA of Western Colorado board member, and Trina Nostrand, the career navigator for CICC, have been pivotal in implementing the CICC program and making operations run smoothly.
“At a district level,” Green said, “there are several individuals that oversee Career and Technical Education in the district that have helped implement this program in the other schools.”
Speaking specifically about Palisade, Green wrote, “The implementation of CICC has helped to advance our Futures Pathways Program. Students on a Futures Pathways Program take courses that focus on a career of interest, along with other courses that enhance skills, ultimately culminating in work-based experiences, such as internships. Our instructors, Joe Ramunno and Paul Brandstoettner, had a solid curriculum; the addition of CICC has enhanced their programming by adding industry recognized credentials.”
What Classes are Offered?
The first year, Green said, students take a year-long course called PACT CORE, and it earns them a pre-apprenticeship certification and the OSHA-10 certification.
“This gives students the foundational information for any career in construction,” she said.
More than that, Kuklish-Gutzwiller said Colorado is the only state with a waiver that allows students who have taken the PACT CORE course and passed the OSHA-10 certification to start working on job sites at the age of 15.
While the first year’s classes are more general in nature, the following years get specific.
“Every semester after the PACT CORE curriculum is a more focused curriculum, such as carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc.,” Green wrote. “A student that completes two years of the program will graduate with four certifications, a pre-apprenticeship certification, OSHA-10 and two specified certificates.”
Because the previous school year was the first for CICC in Palisade High, it had two PACT CORE classes, and that set the stage for this year to have one PACT CORE class and one second-year class.
“This year we are offering carpentry and electrical,” Green said. “We will offer different credentials next year.”
And come spring, when some Palisade students will have two years of CICC classes in their proverbial tool belt, they might be wearing an actual tool belt while doing an internship.
“We anticipate placing 11 to 15 students in construction-related internships,” Green said. “The requested internships vary from carpentry, electrical, HVAC, diesel mechanics, masonry, and one that wants to get his CDL.”
Continuing Education
Green said the classes, certificates and experiences help students determine career paths, and some may desire more education first or choose a career that requires more education.
Either way, she said, “A student will enter into the college with plenty of experience and knowledge to be confident in their decision and to be successful in the coursework.”
WORKFORCE PERSPECTIVE
Making CICC Happen
The doors that have been opened to District 51 students through Careers in Construction Colorado was made possible by Kuklish-Gutzwiller, who said she brought the program to Grand Junction through her connections with CICC’s founding members in Colorado Springs and her role as a board member for the HBA of Western Colorado.
“When I learned about the program, it was an absolute no-brainer to present it to our HBA,” said Kuklish-Gutzwiller, who also is head of business development at Fixture Studio in Grand Junction. “Once I introduced it to the board, they approved launching a Mesa County chapter – with me taking the lead in running it.”
Since then, she has been connecting schools with the local HBA and presenting the program so they can bring it into their classrooms.
Kuklish-Gutzwiller said she works closely with Cheri Taylor and her team at District 51 in the Career and College Readiness program to gain support and collaboration.
Kuklish-Gutzwiller also started the CICC Champions Committee, a team of industry professionals dedicated to promoting the program and securing funding for teacher training, stipends and materials, “which are provided entirely through our HBA chapter,” she said. “From there, I partner with Trina (Nostrand), our career navigator, to connect students with opportunities in the skilled trades, coordinate with educators, contractors and suppliers, and raise community awareness through events, resources and career guidance.”
Recognizing the Need for CICC
Kuklish-Gutzwiller’s commitment to the CICC program is rooted in her belief in the importance of construction education, because it benefits the construction industry and the students.
“Growing up in the valley as the daughter of a plumbing contractor, I saw firsthand the value of skilled trades,” she said. “I even helped pay my way through college by working alongside my dad on job sites. For me, this isn’t just a passion, it’s part of who I am.”
Kuklish-Gutzwiller also expressed pride in what CICC has accomplished in a short time in District 51, citing the number of schools it has reached, the students who are benefiting, and the long-term impact it’s creating.
“We are truly changing the landscape of the building and trade industry on the Western Slope for generations to come,” she said.
Replenishing the Workforce
Speaking of future generations, Kuklish-Gutzwiller said the timing of CICC’s impact locally is perfect.
“We’re growing our own workforce in Mesa County and in the counties that we service,” she said, “and I think that’s hugely important, because right now our trades are getting older, and they are going away, and we have a severe shortage of skilled-trade laborers that wanna come in.”
Raising Awareness
A severe shortage of skilled-trade laborers means there’s a demand for skilled-trade laborers, and the CICC program is trying to spread that word: The trades are a good way to make a living.
“I think the biggest thing is that kids don’t understand that you can be an HVAC technician making $70,000 to $100,000 a year after you’re finished with school,” Kuklish-Gutzwiller said. “A lot of students don’t even understand the amount of money that they can make when they want to be a plumber, electrician, a mason or, you know, any of the other things that come along with the building industry. And there’s so many different avenues besides just what you see in construction.”
She added, “Our whole goal is to make kids aware, to put those tools in their hands, so they’re available to them, so that they can actually walk away skilled and they get certification, so when the kids are done with high school … they can walk onto a job site and say, “Hey I have a certificate in electrical. I have a certificate in plumbing. I have a certificate in HVAC,’ that type of thing.
“It just makes them more employable, and it makes our workforce and the companies that are around us able to pull in students that actually have some training, which is huge around here.”
Built For The Future
The HBA of Western Colorado, Western Colorado Contractors Association, and the Western Colorado Careers in Construction chapter are hosting Built for the Future Day on Oct. 7 at Mesa County Fairgrounds, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The HBA of Western Colorado describes it as “an immersive, hands-on event that connects students with skilled professionals who are shaping the world around us.”
It targets students such as the ones now taking PACT CORE classes in School District 51 as part of Careers in Construction Colorado, and it’s an ideal place for local businesses that specialize in construction or skilled trades to get involved.
If you are interested in assisting Built for the Future Day as a presenter, sponsor, or volunteer, go online to www.hbawesternco.com/careers-in-construction-colorado and scroll down to “Built For The Future.” There will be buttons to click to sign up.
Karrie Kuklish-Gutzwiller, head of business development at Fixture Studio and a board member of the HBA of Western Colorado, said the Mesa County CICC program also is trying to get the word out that it needs more local businesses to provide internships to CICC students.
