Highlands Economic Partnership committees are assessing needs from industry leaders for its new Construction Pathways Program.
Vice President of Economic Development Stephen Crook said that the current committee goal is to raise awareness about construction as a lifelong career.
“So even if somebody starts as low man on the totem pole, just getting in and working a job site, and before you know it, there’s some work with your employer and through training and education, you can find yourself as a site lead, supervisors, or anything all the way up. And it’s a career path, not just a job.”
Crook said construction is just the latest facet of developing the Pathways Program. He said that they also have programs for advanced manufacturing, healthcare, IT, and education to name a few.
Crook said that the committee has been working to form programs and partnerships to help get educational providers on the same page when it comes to structuring the program. He said that the construction committee is planning on doing a similar step to the manufacturing committee by making sure parents are getting information about what futures are possible through this type of industry education.
Crook said that the next steps are for the committees to figure out how to best close gaps in the industry’s needs and work to grow the construction industry in the Upper Cumberland.
“We’ve got a great group of employers that are hungry to help grow the construction industry and profession and help to raise awareness for what it can mean for students,” Crook said. “Once they align all that education curriculum and start to do some marketing and advertising around the profession, and increase that family engagement program’s impact, then I think we’re going to see a positive turn in terms of the number of people going into the construction profession.”
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