After the October 2017 wildfires destroyed 400 homes in Redwood and Potter valleys in Mendocino County, Calif., the local construction industry is facing significant rebuilding. As a result, local educators have partnered with the construction industry to launch Mendocino County Construction Corps, which offers young adults in Mendocino and Lake counties a realistic look at a career path in construction, according to the North Bay Business Journal.
The new program is modeled after the North Bay Construction Corps program, which is in its second year in Sonoma County, and launched its first class of 21 students at Ukiah High School in Ukiah, Calif. Students in the new program are learning a broad range of construction skills: framing, electrical wiring, roofing, pouring concrete, plumbing, operating heavy equipment and staying safe on a job site.
"I've done a lot of workforce development, and to have an industry come to the table the way they have to this project is incredible," says Clinton Maxwell, workforce development coordinator for the Mendocino County Office of Education.
Ukiah Unified School District board voted Feb. 9 to take the lead on the new program, and the first of the four months of Monday night classes started Feb. 12. Students also attend one Saturday class per month.
"Often, what teenagers need is a practical challenge put in front of them," Maxwell says. "It connects classroom learning with the real world."
Taught by local contractors, the program provides course credits through Mendocino College. More than 20 built-environment companies are involved with the program.
As with the Sonoma County-based program, students who complete the 44 hours of classroom and hands-on training then demonstrate their skills during a two-week boot camp. Those who make it through will earn a $750 stipend and get a chance to interview with local employers for jobs that could start at $17 to $20 an hour.
"It helps for a high-schooler to know that after school they have work options and postsecondary options," Maxwell says. "It takes a lot to allow a young person to have doors of opportunity and to help a young person walk through those doors."
The program teaches "hard skills" needed to perform tasks successfully but also focuses on critical "soft skills," such as showing up on time, resolving worksite conflicts and team problem-solving.
Although the construction labor shortage has existed for a while, the loss of more than 5,000 North Bay homes in the wildfires is expected to deepen the effects of the shortage.
The Mendocino County program is funded by donations from local individuals and businesses.
