Sixteen recent Clayton County, Ga., high school graduates completed Construction Ready’s 20-day summer program, which included hands-on training in electrical work, welding, and carpentry.
Participants trained for four weeks, earned eight industry-recognized credentials, and are now set to be matched with employers through apprenticeship opportunities.
The graduation comes as the U.S. faces a widening skilled-trades shortage, with more than 2.1 million jobs potentially going unfilled over the next four years.
Construction Ready said the 20-day program gave students hands-on training in electrical work, welding and carpentry. Participants spent four weeks in class and finished the program with eight industry-recognized credentials.
Luke Fletcher, vice president of Construction Ready, told WSB that graduates will be matched with employers in the trades they want to pursue through apprenticeship opportunities.
Fletcher added that students also earn college credits while completing apprenticeships and, after five years, are only a few classes away from an associate degree.
Construction Ready used a hiring fair model to connect students and employers. Employers ranked their preferred students, while students ranked the companies they could see themselves working for, helping determine apprenticeship matches.
The organization said about 70% of students who complete the program are working in construction one year after graduation.
Construction Ready identified candidates after inviting schools to bring students to SkillsUSA in February, according to Fletcher, with a focus on young people who may not have access to construction classes in high school but already know they want to become electricians, carpenters, or tradespeople.
Another summer training program is already underway with Atlanta Public Schools, with those students expected to graduate next month.
The local graduation lands against a much larger workforce problem. WSB, citing U.S. Department of Education estimates, reported that more than 2.1 million skilled-trades jobs could go unfilled over the next four years, creating roughly $1 trillion in annual economic losses.
Officials told the outlet that the problem is being driven in part by blue-collar workers nearing retirement and a shortage of new entrants to the workforce.
Fletcher said the electrical segment needs about 88,000 new employees or apprentices nationwide, underscoring why early-entry workforce programs are becoming more important to the construction labor pipeline.
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