Looking for a career change?

In February you may have filled out those dreaded tax forms, and reflected on the prior year.  Have you ever considered making a job or career change?  If you are one of those people, the Construction Industry wants you!  We want your children as well! 

Did you know that a recent study said that construction workers were the happiest employees in any industry?  At the end of every day, our workers get to look around and say, “I built that”.

Beginning in the 1970s, and throughout the 80s and 90s, we started to tell everyone that the only pathway to success in America was with a college degree.  At that time, the average cost of a four year degree was around $20,000 and that degree opened the door to a job that paid around the same amount in annual salary.  Nowadays, college costs 4-5 times that and most entry level jobs don’t pay enough to cover basic expenses and college loans. 

February was Career and Technical Education Month.    For a fraction of the cost and time of college, you can enroll in a technical program.  Many employers will hire you directly and pay 100% of the costs for you to participate in a registered apprenticeship or other job training program.   

Organizations like the Ohio Valley Construction Education Foundation offer training in multiple skilled trades while taking time to find interested candidates full time employment prior to enrolling in training.    Career Tech Schools are about getting people employed and working, not about getting a degree that may or may not result in a good job.

The construction Industry is suffering from a lack of skilled workers, forecasting a need for as many as three million more workers over the next 10 years.  The need in construction is expected to grow twice as fast as the national average of all industries.   Construction offers year round employment in a growing industry with great pay and benefits.   It is not about digging ditches and plumbing toilets; it is building schools and office parks, casinos and hospitals.

~John Morris, President
Ohio Valley Associated Builders & Contractors