Tampa Bay's construction industry tries to connect with the younger generation
By Henry Queen
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 3, 2022

Construction apprenticeship programs have recently become more robust in the Tampa Bay area, but the efforts could be futile in a society that for decades encouraged students that college was the only way.

And even when training programs can attract younger people, local companies need skilled tradesmen, superintendents and project managers right now. The Tampa Bay region is undergoing a massive construction boom — homes, apartments, roads, airport runways and medical facilities are all on the docket to accommodate a growing population.

In Hillsborough County, there were 8,500 construction job postings in the last year, according to Emsi and Career Tampa Bay. Statewide, the industry is clamoring for more than 500,000 skilled workers by 2026, according to Steve Cona, president and CEO of ABC's Florida Gulf Chapter.

It all boils down to marketing — and that's where the industry is making some progress, industry professionals told the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

High school students are being exposed to the benefits — notably the salary — of a career in the trades. Pinellas County opened Richard O. Jacobson Technical School in 2018, which includes opportunities in construction technology training. A total of 11 construction trainees have graduated from the first two senior classes with 18 more on track for next year, Joshua Wolfenden said.

The Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation in Wesley Chapel is scheduled to open in August. It will offer training in construction, robotics, digital media, automotive repair and other disciplines. Those may change over the years as flexibility is being prioritized in the curriculum.

"[Construction companies] need employees," said Lori Romano, director of career, technical and adult education at Pasco County Schools. "We have a program advisory group with business partners on it that are helping us to support getting students through our courses and then giving them work-based learning opportunities while they're in the program. So it's hands-on, and then they might ultimately hire them. Some of them are even offering to be able to pay for further training post-secondary after they graduate."

New York-based CannonDesign and Tampa-based Hepner Architects designed the building for KRAI, which operates under a school choice model. Creative Contractors in Clearwater is the construction lead.

The first floor is dedicated to the trades, and the second floor to the more traditional classes — algebra and Shakespeare isn't going away. There is also a large courtyard with an area dedicated to project presentations. Even on an afternoon in late May, the weather isn't unbearable.

"The building is oriented in the east-west direction, which is the primary winds throughout the year in that area so that the courtyard can be cooled by natural ventilation as much as possible. All of the exterior walkways — there's no internal corridors — are shaded by all of the glass that we put in," said Michael Kmak of CannonDesign.

Leaders at a school district in Bowling Green, Kentucky, saw the renderings online and were so impressed that they decided to visit before embarking on a similar project. The hope is that something as simple as the design of a school can also impress students here.

When Kmak first arrived at the site in Wesley Chapel, there were still cows. Now, there will be a different demographic inhabiting the former ranch: thousands of suburban kids.

"We wanted to introduce suburban kids — believe it or not — to technical education," said Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent of Pasco County Schools. "Everything across the street there is being developed. There is the Crystal Lagoon, Metro [Development Group], Lennar [Homes]. Over there, we have Epperson Ranch. And then we're sitting in an area that's called the Villages of Pasadena. ... We wanted a technical school to look nice in the middle of suburbia as opposed to out in some industrial areas. We wanted a pipeline to be able to bring kids from elementary schools in this area and sell them on the idea of technical education."

Among the school's industry partners is the Masonry Association of Florida, which has its own apprenticeship program that trains 40 to 50 students per year in the Tampa Bay area. Executive Director Donna Hinson said guidance counselors in high schools are coming around to the idea that college isn't for everyone.

A big number

31

The average age of a student in Tampa Bay's trade schools, according to Tampa Bay Partnership President and CEO Bemetra Simmons. She said that local 18 to 24-year-olds who aren't enrolled in university are being left behind.

Instead, students can lay concrete blocks or bricks while making plenty of money and, like their predecessors, take pride in doing so. Brick masons, who must complete three years of training through the program, make an average of over $30 an hour in Florida.

"Every single job out there — from labor carrying materials to the workers all the way up to the business owner — are set to retire," Hinson said. "That's a ton of opportunity for somebody that wants to work hard and is smart and is going to apply themselves."

They said it:

"Getting the unskilled laborers is not as challenging. But getting guys that are what we call journeymen who have been doing it for five,10 years — they're hard to come by. They're all working. The interest [for projects] is still fairly solid, especially in Florida. And Tampa is probably one of the busier markets in Florida."

— Erik Santiago, president of KHS&S Contractors. The Tampa-based company does a lot of work at Tampa International Airport and hospitals throughout the region.

A closer look at KRAI Industry Partners

84 Lumber

Bayonet Plumbing

Creative Contractors

Edmonson Electric

Habitat for Humanity of East & Central Pasco County

Holmes Hepner & Associates Architects

Ironworkers

Lennar Homes

Masonry Association of Florida

Moss Construction

Old Castle (Concrete & Pavers)

Plumbers and Pipefitters LU 123

Precision ERS

Tampa Electric/Emera

Tulsa Welding School

Withlachoocchie Electric Cooperative