Building Construction Academy To Address Nationwide Labor Shortage

January 5, 2000

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — To address the nation’s critical need for skilled workers, University of Florida researchers have developed plans for a construction academy that will reduce traditional training time by at least 50 percent.

“Not having enough qualified craftspeople is the biggest single problem facing the industry today,” said Brisbane Brown, a professor at UF’s M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction. “Housing, commercial and industrial construction are booming right now because of the robust economy,” further aggravating the labor shortage.

The Florida Academy of Construction Trades, one of the first such academies in the country, will offer its students a chance to learn the same classroom training in eight weeks that for decades has taken up to two years. The academy, which should open to students this fall, will use a curriculum developed by the National Center for Construction Education and Research, an organization affiliated with UF that has published standardized construction curricula for more than 20 crafts.

Training initially will be provided in carpentry, electrical work, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Training in other crafts will follow. The center’s curriculum, recognized in all 50 states and 14 foreign countries, differs from traditional construction curriculum in that it is performance-based. “Anybody can do it, and you can work at your own pace,” said Russell Smith, a former plumbing contractor and chairman of Citizens for Better Construction Education.

The academy eventually will produce almost 3,000 skilled craftsmen a year, with training to be aimed primarily at low-income or disadvantaged people. Students will be encouraged to return to the academy after working in their chosen fields for one or two years in order to complete their training.

“This is a very important project and an experiment that could potentially be used as a pattern all over the country,” said Dan Bennet, president of the National Center for Construction Educaiton and Research. “Basically what we’re trying to create is a boot camp for training, where we’ll take young students and let them concentrate on a career path in the construction industry.

“This should cut the time required drastically, and at the same time it should allow students to concentrate on the subject without nearly as much outside interference. The net result is that the construction industry, which has a shortfall of about 250,000 per year, should be able to get more people and better-trained people into the industry at an accelerated pace.”

Smith has met with industry representatives and elected officials to garner support and funding for the academy. He is working to secure federal, state and private grants to cover academy costs so that the program will be free to students. Contractors will serve as instructors, and unlike other programs, the academy will provide meals and housing for its students. “All they have to pay for is transportation there,” Brown said.

Most craftsmen learn trades through apprenticeships, which typically last about four years. Apprentices work full time during the day and attend classes at night each week.

But that method isn’t keeping up with demand.

“There’s lots of apprentice programs in the state, but they’re not producing the numbers of people needed to meet the needs of the industry,” Brown said.

Smith agrees current training is insufficient. “The construction industry has been extensively behind the eight ball,” he said. “The facilities aren’t in place to create trained craftspeople. The system needs to be responsive to the industry as well as the individual, and it isn’t. It’s based on time and not performance.”

Apprenticeships can be discouraging, especially to high school graduates. “Youth look at a four-year apprentice program and say forget it,” Brown said.

The time saved at the academy will depend on the craft. But in one week of academy classes, students will get the same amount of in-class instruction as they would have in two months in a class that met twice a week. The academy also will offer hands-on instruction.

To help minimize costs, UF researchers would like to take advantage of facilities made available by the closing of Florida military bases, such as the naval air station at Cecil Field in Jacksonville. Establishing the academy at Cecil Field would provide ample space for housing, dining facilities, classrooms and administration space.

Planning for the academy has been funded by the Building Construction Industry Advisory Committee, a research group funded by the Florida Department of Education; UF’s School of Building Construction; and the National Center for Construction Education and Research.