How can Chattanoogans connect to careers in industries projected to grow faster than the national average — and that pay a thriving wage? For the Construction Career Center and Chattanooga 2.0, the answer comes down to strengthening and smoothing pathways for students and young adults to connect to early exposure, education and mentorship opportunities.
“When we opened the construction center, the kids really didn’t understand vocational training because it just wasn’t being offered,” explained Leslie Gower, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors, who oversees the Construction Career Center. “They needed hands-on experience to understand these options.”
“We all think of the electrician who comes to our house, I know I do,” agreed Keri Randolph, executive director of Chattanooga 2.0. “But there’s lots of different opportunities in the skilled trades. And so how do we help? How do we help kids decide if that’s right for them, to make that good decision and then get matched with the right job while understanding how they can advance in that career?”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, urbanization and population growth mean that despite inflation concerns and labor shortages, the construction field is expected to see growth opportunities projected at nearly 5 percent over the next decade.
And, much of that growth brings starting salaries of more than $50,000 annually for skilled entry-level workers. That number, Randolph said, has been established as the minimum salary needed for a single Chattanoogan to thrive.
“I’m from a rural community north of Nashville and my grandfather, when my mother was just a baby, left Tennessee and went to Ford in Detroit and was an apprentice and learned machining and welding,” Randolph added. “And when he came back to Tennessee, he moved our family into the middle class. That story is still possible. But you have to have those connections and that social capital and job readiness skills. We work to demystify that.”
Much of that demystifying and pathway building relies on area businesses to provide mentorship and hands-on student engagement. For Chris Callahan, president of Callahan Mechanical and frequent partner of the construction center, the investment is a natural one.
“I look at it as a partnership with a school that has a common goal to get people into all the trades,” he said. “We show them the general components and some of the kids, you can see their eyes light up. Others, you know, you talk with them and you know they’ve eliminated this as a trade they want to do — and that’s equally important to me for them to realize.”
As a large commercial HVAC company, Callahan Mechanical employs between 90 and 100 trade workers. Several of those employees are current or former Construction Career Center students.
Callahan himself grew up in the family company, but initially went to a four-year college to pursue a path outside of construction.
“This career was never pushed on me, it was never expected,” he said. “I was going to [college] classes and enjoying them but I didn’t really know how to apply anything I was learning. And that’s when I went back to work a summer at the company. And that was 23 years ago.”
Callahan said his early exposure helped him see a comfortable and fulfilling future for himself in the construction industry, something he’s passionate about helping other students and young adults access now.
“My family, even before we started this business, my great great grandfather did this,” he added. “And they all lived very joyful and fulfilled lives and were financially stable, so I’ve just seen a path here for happiness and financial stability.”
Today, Chattanooga’s Construction Career Center has capacity for 120 students. But through partnerships with Hamilton County Schools and the local business community, the center, alongside Chatt 2.0, works to ensure students have exposure to vocational trades as early as middle school.
Students interested can then benefit from the high school program for juniors and seniors, which provides five or more certifications in construction, work-based learning, career counseling and more. Dual enrollment with Chattanooga State Community College also ensures students can then pursue further education for a degree, or get connected with employers in their chosen field.
“It’s about giving them really robust exposure to all of the different trades and all of the different career paths they can get to within the umbrella of construction,” Gower said.
For many years, Gower acknowledged, a social push away from vocational trades and a focus on a traditional four-year degree created stigma and misunderstanding about opportunities within the construction industry.
“I think that now the secret is getting out, though,” she said. “We’re seeing more and more parents come in through the door and get a better understanding. College has gotten outrageously expensive and the ROI, when you graduate, isn’t always there.”
Currently, the center has a nearly 100 percent rate of placement into either continued education or career pavement for its students, based on individual preference.
“We had a student from Howard [High School] whose family came from Guatemala and didn’t have many connections here … he went through our program, was hired by a very large construction company here, and at 18 was making more money than the rest of his family,” Gower said. “Now, he’s assistant project manager and he’ll probably go on to be project manager by the time he’s 20. His goal is to own his own company in six more years – that’s a trajectory that he hadn’t imagined before this program.”
“We’ve been really working on asking ‘How do we improve these systems and strengthen these pipelines?’” Randolph said. “There is ongoing opportunity here.”
For Dana Severson, human resources and office manager for local homebuilder RP Communities, the pipeline to her construction career looked much different.
“I was actually working in a finance department in D.C. and when I moved here, I remember being told it would probably take me two years to get my head wrapped around everything at the company and that was very accurate,” she said.
“There are so many degrees out there that construction can use that I don’t think people realize,” she said. “We have so many opportunities in operations, in marketing, in finance.”
To find out more about the Construction Career Center’s opportunities for both students and adults, visit constructioncareercentertn.com.
Businesses and trade professionals interested in partnering with the center can contact Workforce Director Susan Cowden at [email protected].
