Kids Want to Build Their Futures

By Leonard Toenjes

Q: My kids love construction. I think they’ve spent as much time on construction sites as they have in school rooms. Now they’re in high school and thinking about what they’d like to do for their lives. I do not have a construction management or engineering degree. I just learned construction from my father as an apprentice and slowly moved up the ranks. But I want my kids to have more. I’d like to expose my kids to the possibility of a construction-management degree if that’s what they want to do. What’s the best way to learn about construction programs? Which do you recommend? How much do they cost?

A: While your children are in high school, there are many opportunities for them to learn about construction careers. It is a great idea to try to keep children engaged in our industry as early as possible.

Research by Scholastic, the publisher of many elementary grade and secondary education programs, shows that young people begin to decide the careers that they do not want to pursue as early as the 5th or 6th grade. A positive image of the construction industry at an early age can at least keep this option on the table for future career choices.

Career Academies

Many high schools around the country are now adopting a career academy model, essentially a school within a school. A career academy is a special program within a high school geared to particular industry, in this case construction.

The National Career Academy Coalition (www.ncacinc.com) is a good resource to learn more about the construction career cluster available through career academies and locations of any high schools with a construction career academy in your local area.

A trendy Web site for learning the basics of construction careers is Construct My Future (www.constructmyfuture.com). This has a rich resource of information for students, parents, and teachers. There is also additional information about construction schools and educational programs in your area.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also has a ton of statistical information about construction careers on its Web site (www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs003.htm), but I’m pretty sure the Construct My Future information is much more appealing to young folks.

For construction management programs of a post-secondary nature, the Associated Schools of Construction is the best place to look. It is the professional association for the development and advancement of construction education, where the sharing of ideas and knowledge inspires, guides and promotes excellence in curricula, teaching, research and service.

Its Web site (http://ascweb.org) lists the higher-education schools participating in this organization and information about all of their construction management degree programs. Additional career information about construction management degree programs is available at College Grad. Com (www.collegegrad.com/careers/manag06.shtml).

Armed with this information, visit some schools. Ask local contractors about intern opportunities for project management and construction management students.

The good news is that all of this information is available without cost. The benefits could last a lifetime, far past 5th grade.