“Deconstruction” program for adults helps fills gap in work force
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - 88 percent of contractors are having a difficult time finding skilled workers, per the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“A good majority of employers are looking for folks that have these type of trade skills. So, I’ve created these partnerships with these employers. They send me a list of the amount of vacancies they have available, [then] as we’re training folks and we already have something identified for them. That’s how much of a need this is,” said founder of Opportunity Knox Derrick Knox.
Knox is the founder of opportunity Knox, a construction program that teaches adults 18 and older specific trade skills to become employable after a four-week certified training program.
They can go into carpentry, plumbing, electrical work and more, which is helping fill the gap to hire skilled workers in the area.
“This is priceless to be able to give people career tools that they keep for the rest of their lives,” said Knox. “If they get their license they can go anywhere throughout the country throughout the world. For me its huge, because your teaching them how to create sustainable means of income for their lives.”
This is the first year of the deconstruction program. The first two weeks take place in a classroom setting at Michigan State University and the last two weeks are hands on. This week, they are deconstructing a house to reclaim the wood; currently one in three contractors are experiencing a shortage of lumber.
The program not only helps the economy but individuals like Mike McVay as well.
“I was one of those individuals looking for a skilled trade and a group of people and an organization to help fill that next step in my career,” said a class participant Mike McVay.
McVay lost his job during the pandemic, so this opportunity means a lot to him.
“It gives me hope that one I’m not the only one looking for help and also being able to ask for help and having someone there to catch you to get you through your next forty years,” McVay said.
Class instructor Christopher Pratt says it’s so fulfilling to see these guys succeed.
“They’re now getting put into a professional environment where they are being put inside a training class where safety is the number one concern, they have progressed fantastically in the beginning,” said class instructor Christopher Pratt. “It’s always putting together a group of people that don’t usually associate with each another and into a group together and then having them learn from each other is a fantastic experience.”
The program totals 160 hours of training, you must be 18 years of age or older. The class can hold up to 30 students, and the next program is expected to take place in the fall.
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