BUILDING INTEREST
Construction summer campers have until May 5 to enroll in camp in OKC
Details are no longer sketchy, they’ve been sketched for Construct My Future, a free construction-oriented summer camp in Oklahoma City for seventh- and eighth-graders.
People in the construction business took a kind of barn-raising approach to dealing with the graying of the building trades and chronic shortage of workers and entrepreneurs:
A bunch of them pitched together to design, plan and “raise” a camp to get across the point that construction can be a fine, well-paying career.
Space is available for the five-day day camp, which will be 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 23-27 at the Engineering Technology Center at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City. Lunch and snacks provided. The deadline to enroll is May 5.
Go to www.constructmyfutureok.org to sign up a camper, volunteer or donate. Or call Jack Werner, owner of A to Z Inspections at 405-412-7861, ext. 2.
Trade careers solid alternative to college
Camp organizers point to a Georgetown University study showing a steady rise in demand for construction workers “and pay on average $55,000/year while being paid to train.”
College is not the only way to a good career, they point out.
“Many students are encouraged by parents and schools to explore college degrees when there is no promise for a job that has demand in the marketplace,” they say online. “All along, the students and parents absorb student loan debt while not fully understanding the potential of a career in the trades.”
Trade careers campers will explore include plumbing, electrical, carpentry, HVAC, concrete/masonry, welding, flooring, painting, roofing, pipe fitting, heavy equipment, surveying and solar power.
Construct My Future, an idea born just more than a year ago, offers kids and their families experiences and information about the different businesses in the trades “and the fulfillment that can be achieved while working in this industry,” organizers say.
Number of corporate sponsors step up to help OKC construction camp
In addition to Werner, of A to Z Inspections, leading camp planners include:
• Marla Cloos, owner of Green Home Coach, a green building consultancy, who is deeply involved with the annual Build My Future construction education event for high school students.
• Ben F. Bigelow, associate professor and director of the Construction Science Division at the University of Oklahoma.
• William Blake, owner of Vesta Foundation Solutions with locations in Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Springdale, Arkansas.
• Jackie Listen, retired banker and entrepreneur.
Corporate sponsors include Guthrie Job Corps Center, Oklahoma Home Builders Association, Fox Blocks Truegrid, Trade Pros Heat & Air, Hilti, Soto Flooring and Construction and Oklahoma Electric Cooperative.
Senior business writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate, and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com.