The Jacksonville Jaguars are partnering with Construction Ready, a Georgia-based nonprofit, to offer free classes throughout 2022 to train more skilled construction workers as the build-out on the team’s new practice facility and the Shipyards kicks off.
Initial recruitment efforts are focusing on Jacksonville’s Eastside neighborhood near TIAA Bank Field, with assistance from the Historic Eastside Community Development Corporation, Operation New Hope, CareerSource and LIFT JAX.
The Jaguars are contributing $100,000 to pay for the first class, which will cover the education of 20 participants.
After four weeks of training, which is five days a week and eight hours a day, participants could earn up to eight different certifications, ranging from first aid to equipment use, and will have access to a hiring fair.
“It’s all the basic foundational skills and credentials that you need to start a career in the construction industry,” said Scott Shelar, president of Construction Ready. “We’re not drilling down into any one trade like an electrician or plumber, but we’re giving people who come through the program the very basic skills that they need to get into the industry and be safe.”
CareerSource Northeast Florida is donating space in their downtown offices for the first class. CEO Bruce Ferguson says the Eastside is one of the best places to begin recruitment and to focus on for the program. Recruiting in places that are close to the construction itself is “really important.”
“Those are some of our more economically challenged areas,” Ferguson said. “The closer you are to where you work, the easier the transportation equation becomes because that’s a barrier for some folks, especially those that they have a criminal background.”
The deadline to register for the first class is Feb. 28. The class starts March 8 with graduation on April 8. There are other partners, including private construction companies, lined up to pay for three subsequent trainings in 2022 with the hope the program will continue indefinitely.
The Construction Ready program originally launched in Atlanta to help construct the Mercedes Benz stadium. It’s now spread to seven cities in Georgia.
“There’s so much construction going on in Jacksonville … so we’re anticipating, just based on the way it’s worked here in Atlanta, our students are going to go to work all over the city of Jacksonville,” Shelar said.
For the Sports Performance Center construction, there will be a need for between 25 and 50 of this level of certified workers.
Shelar also told the Times-Union that “anyone is welcome” and that in Atlanta, around 70 percent of the first round of class participants had some type of criminal background. It’s one of the benefits of the program, according to Shelar, along with the quick turnaround period to earn the certificates.
Steven Miller, instructional program manager at Florida State College at Jacksonville, told the Times-Union that the Construction Ready program is a good beginning for people who may want to eventually take longer and more in-depth programs at the college.
“People in the Jaguars program find something they really want to go into,” Miller said. “They also find a niche that they want, whether it’s electricity or welding or carpentry.”
Jaguars Chief Community Impact Officer Whitney Meyer says they’re giving tours to a private construction company on the Eastside, the team’s “immediate neighbors.” Private companies have been a part of the program since the beginning.
The program is also about filling a dearth of skilled workers, which Shelar says has been an issue for a long time that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic.
“I think companies are really hungry to find good talent and they just see this as a win win opportunity,” Shelar told the Times-Union. “They can help their community, but they can also help their industry and their company find the talent that they need to continue to thrive and continue to build the skyline of Jacksonville.”
Link to article: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2022/01/28/construction-ready-and-jaguars-offering-construction-training/9212352002/
Register for the first class at www.constructionready.org.