The Memphis construction industry is thriving, even as it faces a looming problem: The industry is getting older and smaller. The average age of a tradesman today is 47 years old. With every four to five tradesman who retire or leave our industry, there’s only one coming in. We have an urgent need to attract new, qualified workers.
Meanwhile in Memphis, poverty is an ever-present challenge. Last year, the University of Memphis’ Annual Memphis Poverty Study ranked the city No. 1 in the country in overall poverty for cities of more than 1 million people. About 27% of residents are affected by poverty.
These two facts spurred my company, Turner Construction Company, to do some thinking about what we can do to make a difference in our community — while simultaneously trying to bring new people into our industry. The result is our pilot Career Awareness Program, which launched in November and graduated its first class in December.
Although construction involves hard, physical work, jobs in our industry pay above a living wage. In most trades, workers start in a support role and gradually build up their skills, steadily moving into higher-paying positions. And, once they have acquired a set of skills, they have them for the rest of their lives.
Additional inspiration for our Career Awareness Program came from our partnership with Methodist University Hospital. Turner is currently in the middle of a $275 million campus expansion project at the hospital that will include a new patient tower and 700-space parking garage. We targeted students in the 38126 zip code, in which the hospital serves.
To create our Career Awareness Program, we partnered with Advance Memphis, the Greater Memphis Alliance for Competitive Workforce (GMACW) and several of Memphis’ top subcontractors, including Lehman-Roberts, FL Crane, Kenny Flooring, Dyson Construction, Gephart Electric, Morgan & Thornburg, Tri-State Plumbing and Top-Cat Masonry. Classes took place over four weeks, meeting four nights a week. Four weeks isn’t long enough to adequately teach a particular trade, but it is long enough to give students a deep awareness of career options within the industry and help them take their first steps toward the job they seem best suited for.
Our subcontractor partners led classes that increased students’ familiarity with such trades as carpentry, flooring, concrete, electrical, sheet metal, plumbing and masonry. The students were most interested in these hands-on, technical sessions, asking many questions about how things go together and the types of materials used. In other sessions, we gave students an overview of the so-called “soft” skills that they would need as employees — communication with co-workers and supervisors, basic math, emotional intelligence and interview techniques. We also spent time teaching basic safety procedures and the fundamentals of operating equipment.
At the end of the class, I sat down with each student and asked what trade they wanted to be a part of. Although they weren’t guaranteed jobs, we did make our best effort to get them interviews in the trade of their choice. It was our commitment in return for their commitment.
Although those interviews are ongoing, I’m happy to say that the majority of the students have already gotten jobs. Among them are Mario Hill and Chris Boyce, two students who have been employed by Gephart Electric and are working on the Methodist University Hospital Expansion project on their way to careers as electricians.
“I learned a lot in the little time we had to do it. I learned different trades and what they do, and how they operate,” said Hill, who, before attending the class, worked as a forklift driver in a warehouse.
“They told us if you come to class and put forth an effort, then they would help us at least get an interview. And sure enough, they were true to their word. At the end of three weeks, we started getting phone calls,” said Boyce, a former train engineer, of Turner's program. “They know we’re green, and they’re going out of their way to teach us.”
One of the biggest challenges in Memphis is finding a way to create lasting change, and we think that the construction industry has a lot to offer, especially with commercial construction tradesmen paid on average 33% more per week than the rest of Americans. We know that a job with a living wage can not only change the direction of an individual’s life, but ultimately impact the next generation as well. When more people are employed, the community where they live also builds and prospers. This class is our way of bringing new ideas to an old issue, and we hope that it is the first step in making a difference now and in the future.
