As long as there have been schools, there have been students who knew sitting in a classroom all day wasn’t for them. This feeling doesn’t necessarily go away when it comes to the workplace; not everyone is meant to sit behind a desk. But because kids often hear that they have to go to college to amount to anything, they don’t consider other avenues.
Well, I’m here to present another avenue: getting into the trades. In Mendocino County, many tradespeople are approaching retirement age and they cannot find enough people to replace them. I just attended a meeting of the Mendocino County Construction Corps (MCCC) program, a pilot program that encourages high school seniors to pursue a career in construction, and I enthusiastically support it.
MCCC is made up of tradespeople and business people, educators, and community benefit organizations. It’s a great example of community members recognizing a need and working together to address it.
As a real estate broker, my business depends on having enough housing for the people who live in our valley. Right now, we have a shortage—one that just got worse because of last October’s fires. I love the idea of local people supporting themselves financially by becoming carpenters, plumbers, electricians and general contractors. I also love the idea of having enough plumbers in town so if my washing machine breaks and water is flowing all over my house, there’s someone I can call who can help me immediately.
In recent years, there’s been more school funding for what they call “career technical education” (CTE), programs that help students get the skills they need to pursue careers that do not necessarily include going to a four-year university. CTE programs remind students that there are plenty of people who make a good living fixing cars, growing food, and building houses, among other pursuits.
While there is some money for CTE programs, it’s limited, so when Ukiah Unified School District CTE Coordinator Eric Crawford was inspired to start the MCCC, he knew he’d have to figure out how to fund it with grants and donations. He pulled together a steering committee and since then, he has been able to raise more than 75 percent of the funding needed to provide 14 weeks of education for the 21 students who were chosen through a rigorous selection process.
The program includes weekly evening classes and four all-day Saturday classes on subjects like power tools, reading blueprints, construction safety, first aid/CPR, framing, roofing, solar, plumbing, concrete, electrical, construction math and more. Students also learn to drive a forklift and other heavy machinery.
Once they complete the coursework, which is mostly hands-on practice, the students participate in a two-week boot camp where they help build houses for Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation and the Hope Crisis Response Network. At the end of all this, they’ll receive a $750 stipend for their work and a tool belt with tools to get them started.
Local tradespeople who believe in the importance of supporting our community and who like the idea of creating a pool of well-trained people have volunteered to teach the classes. John Boies of Granite Construction said Granite encourages employees to give back to the community, which made it easy for those who like to teach to sign up.
In addition to teaching, several local businesses signed up to be major donors (donating $1,000 or more) include Christensen Construction, Friedman’s Home Improvement, the General Contractors Association, Granite Construction, Guillon Inc. Construction, John McCowen, the Mendocino County Office of Education, Mendo Mill, Menton Builders, Jim and Arlene Moorehead, Realty World Selzer Realty, and the Ted and Wilma Westman Fund of the Community Foundation of Mendocino County.
After the boot camp, local contractors will have the opportunity to hire MCCC graduates. If you’re interested in learning more about this program, visit https://sites.google.com/uusd.net/mcccwebsite.
If you have questions about getting into real estate, please contact me at rselzer@selzerrealty.com or call (707) 462-4000. If you’d like to read previous articles, visit my blog at www.richardselzer.com. Dick Selzer is a real estate broker who has been in the business for more than 40 years.