Over the summer, nine teenagers made regular visits to John W. Danforth Co.’s shop in the Town of Tonawanda, getting hands-on experience in skilled trades work.
With guidance from experienced instructors – unionized workers at Danforth who stepped forward to help out – they built metal household items that they were able to take home.
“We’re trying to get some exposure to students on this,” said Michael Bement, vice president of shop operations. “We are trying to reach out to that student who may be interested in a career in construction and doesn’t know what path to take.
“Construction, right now, is in need of workers,” he said. “Our goal here is to introduce and expose these high school-age students to what we do.”
Around the region, workforce development leaders, businesses and unions are looking for more young people to go into careers in skilled trades.
The need has become pressing, with more older workers heading toward retirement and fewer younger workers to take their place. The state Labor Department projects a 20% increase in construction jobs in Western New York from 2020 to 2030, a gain of 4,320 jobs over that span.
Still, employers have long said they feel many high schools don’t do enough to promote skilled trades as a viable career path after graduation, partly because guidance counselors and parents viewed fields like manufacturing and construction as having limited career opportunities. Over the past three decades, construction employment locally has been pretty much flat, according to state Labor Department data.
Danforth is doing its part to provide more exposure to these careers, as is a manufacturing program in Genesee County.
Danforth adopted a program, called the “Heavy Metal Summer Experience,” that the company’s CEO had learned about on a business trip. Participating students attended Danforth’s program two days a week for six weeks.
Along with working in the shop, the students toured Sheet Metal…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply