John Gaddis, regional coordinator for the Home Builders Institute (HBI), and Marty Doughty, apprenticeship director with Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), recently visited the Carpentry and Building Construction Technology (BCT) career technical training program at the Whitney M. Young Job Corps Center. They are seeking talented and qualified students interested in apprenticeship programs for Electrical, Carpentry, Plumbing and HVAC. After the tour they were very impressed with the skills and hands-on training provided to the students. Speaking about future career possibilities, Doughty told students, “The sky is the limit once you have earned your Journeyman and Master level licenses, and having the experience from the Whitney Young Job Corps Center is an extreme advantage in jump-starting a career.”

Doughty is eager to partner with HBI and WMYJCC, saying it’s a natural pipeline for the construction program students with strong math skills to seek an apprenticeship within the various construction trades.

Doughty advised BCT student Anthony Richardson to “learn as much as possible about everything. Be a sponge and soak up all you can.” He gave great examples of how, with construction projects on tight timelines, “why wait, if you can do it yourself. Also, if you see and know something is done wrong, you can address it before starting the job, saving you lots of valuable time and resources.”

Doughty also noted that a Journeyman license is highly regarded everywhere in the US. It generally takes four to five years of training and classroom/testing education to become a Journeyman. The process, in addition to gaining more than 8,000 hours of hands-on experience, gives an apprentice many travel opportunities. Students are paid during the apprenticeship process and must be at least 18 years old, have a valid driver’s license, and pass the drug screening and background check.

At the Whitney Young Job Corps Center, students know that employers are seeking mature, talented and responsible workers to show up on time and deliver quality work. BCT instructor Rod Ussery makes it his personal mission to teach both the trade skills and the soft skills, such as effective communication, time management, professionalism and responsibility. He also spends time discussing financial topics such as 401K savings plans and budgeting with his students. His goal is ensure that students are well informed about issues that can seriously affect their future.