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Garrison says five things are needed to make
construction craft training a success in Ala-
bama: 1) curriculum, 2) venue, 3) teachers and
trainers, 4) money, and 5) students. Garrison
said: “The missing pieces are passionate, qual-
ified teachers with the right experience.” He’s
hopeful funding will attract good, competent
craft instructors. “Many of these students are
disengaged. If we don’t get the right trainers,
we’re going to lose them,” said Garrison.
While the state’s mandate is for any construc-
tion craft, Garrison is focusing on ironworkers
using the SEAA/NCCER program. (Garrison is
not using any of the Alabama funds yet; rather
he is tapping Federal Perkins Career and Tech-
nical Education Improvement Act funds.) Upon
completion of the Introduction to Ironworking
course, the 22 high school seniors in his class
will have achieved Level 1 Ironworker creden-
tials. So what’s the next step? “We are willing to
take as many as we can on as apprentice em-
ployees, and take over their training for Level 2
and Level 3 ironworker. For the ones we can’t
hire, we hope to find them jobs at other area
erectors,” said Garrison. His attitude on invest-
ing in these young people is this: “A rising tide
raises all boats.”
The first eight weeks of the program is the-
oretical, taking place in the classroom. The
remainder is practical. Portions of that take
place in a hands-on workshop Garrison recently
opened as well as on job sites. Practical learn-
ing includes welding, oxy fuel cutting, rigging,
and crane familiarity.
In their own words, several of these students
commented on the experience.
“When I first started I didn’t think steel erection
had that many procedures and rules to follow,”
said Skyler West of Pell City High School, who
added that he learned more about rigging than
he expected to know. Meanwhile, Logan Castle-
berry, also of Pell City H.S., was surprised how
many different aspects there are to being an
ironworker.
“Honestly, I had no clue what steel erection
was. I thought it was like blacksmith work,” said
Jacob Acton, Pell City H.S. “Now I know that it is
[everything from] making steel to fabricating it,
and hanging, bolting, and welding.”
Asked what he would tell other students con-
sidering a career in construction, Daniel Crane
of Pell City H.S., said: “They are going to have to
work hard but if they are willing to put in the
hours, they could have a secure and well-paying
career to last a lifetime.”
“This is a wonderful trade to get into. They
need many, many workers and it’s still growing.
You can travel and build new things,” said Alh-
jandre Smith, Talladega High School.
“This high school program is a first step in in-
troducing a new generation about the reward-
ing and financially viable careers to be found
in construction,” said Garrison.“Next is creating
distance learning to reach incumbent workers
seeking to upgrade their skills,”he added.
Tracy Bennett is owner of Mighty Mo Media Partners, a content marketing
firm specializing in the construction industry. She has more than 25 years of
experience covering the construction market, first as a journalist and later as
a marketing consultant.A version of this article originally appeared in Con-
nector, a quarterly publication of the Steel Erectors Association of America,
and is reprinted with permission.