Need for adult construction classes seen

CELINA - Area construction companies are in dire need of workers to construct the buildings of tomorrow.

Like many other businesses, they have positions available but are struggling to hire people who are qualified or even interested, Joe Rose, owner of Rose Construction, told area residents on Tuesday during a Tri Star Career Compact public forum at Celina High School.

To fill the void, Workforce Development Initiative of West Ohio Inc. Director Angela Hamberg, Tri Star Director Tim Buschur and Mercer County Economic Development Director Jared Ebbing are working together to develop an adult construction program with guidance from Rose and Tim Rosengarten, owner of Armcorp Construction Inc.

"The jobs are there. We just need people to come together to make it a perfect marriage," Ebbing said.

This program will provide students with the "foundational skills to succeed in the construction field," Hamberg said.
  Interested students will first take a short course that covers the different construction trades to see where they have interest and aptitude, Rose said.

Students then will be able to participate in an apprenticeship program with a local business, Rose continued.

He noted people entering this career field could have plenty of opportunities for future growth due to the shortage of workers.

"Some of them will have the potential to take over the company, so there's a lot of opportunity in what we're doing here for the future," he said.

The program's cost is still being discussed, but officials hope to set it at about $300, Hamberg said. Scholarships will be available if candidates pass a drug test. She hopes the program will begin this summer.

The class eventually will be taught at Tri Star's 2.0 complex which is being constructed on State Route 703 across from Wright State University-Lake Campus. The estimated completion date is June 2019, Hamberg said. Until then, the class will be offered at Rosengarten's facility at 8511 State Route 703.

The new Tri Star building also will house the career compact's 15 programs for high school students. Participating districts include Coldwater, Celina, St. Marys, New Bremen, Fort Recovery, Marion Local, Minster, St. Henry and New Knoxville, Buschur said.

Forum attendees were given a virtual tour of the $25 million, 100,000-square-foot complex by Fanning Howey Project Architect Douglas Rich, who helped design the building.

Buschur said he told architects not to make the building look like a typical school. It was designed instead to resemble a corporate headquarters.

Rich said the architect and engineering firm intends the complex to be "an icon of Tri Star" when completed.