When students arrive for their first day of classes at Southeast Michigan Construction Academy in Sterling Heights, Keith Ledbetter is sure they will be pleasantly surprised by what they see.

“It’s a big place,” Ledbetter said proudly while providing a tour of the new academy that already has a student enrollment of more than 800 starting in the fall. “We went from one small space in Madison Heights to two buildings with more than 100,000 square feet.”

The campus being built on Van Dyke Avenue will feature 16 classrooms that have been equipped with $200,000 worth of state-of-the-art equipment for instruction and presentations, workshops filled with tools and machinery and a faculty of 40 instructors and 10 fulltime administrators.

“And over here,” he said continuing his tour, incoming students, teachers, parents and other visitors will be greeted by a giant sculpture of a construction worker being created by a local artist.

Anyone who drives by the school will be able to see it, said Ledbetter, who envisions the work of art to become a point of pride for past, present and future students as well as members of the industry.

The programs at the new academy teach skilled trades but it’s also a modern campus with a mission that’s not unlike any other college or university; to provide its students with a career and potentially a good life. It’s also affordable and being an apprenticeship school students attend school while earning a wage.

Trade schools of the past begone.

“When you walk through the front doors of this school you’re going to be proud you’re going to a trade school,” Ledbetter said.

Sean Fisher concurred.

“He was a student when it was a small program,” Ledbetter said, of the SEMCA graduate from Royal Oak. .

Full circle

After graduating high school many of Fisher’s friends went off to four-year colleges in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree but that was never Fisher’s dream.

He grew up in a family of workers who enjoyed remarkable careers in the skilled trades industry including his grandfather, who worked with steel and even had a hand in building a Ford Model T.

He was a pioneer in his field and having the foresight that she did, when Fisher’s grandparents had their estate sale she set aside all of her husband’s tools, instruments that were used long before power tools came into existence, to create shadow boxes so that each grandchild would know their lineage. Among those who have it hanging in their office is Fisher, whose career stands as a shining example of what can be achieved through an apprenticeship program.

“After high school me and my buddy went to work for his dad,” said Fisher, who loved the work and with the support of his employer learned about SEMCA, which would allow him to work while becoming a licensed electrician.

At that time SEMCA was still a small but robust program.

Fisher was eventually joined by a buddy who dropped out of the traditional college program and the two attended the satellite campus in Warren. They successfully passed their journeyman’s exam to become electricians.

“It was a great experience,” Fisher said, of his time at SEMCA. “I don’t feel like I missed the college experience. You wake up. You go to work. You go to school and then on the weekends you hang out with your friends.”

Workforce pipeline

When Ledbetter first approached school districts about the plan to create an academy that would provide apprenticeship programs for the construction industry they balked at the idea saying their kids were being groomed for university programs.

That was almost a decade ago.

Today, school administrators know better and many high schools have developed construction related classes, along with manufacturing, automation and design engineering for students who are interested in skilled trades.

“Strategic workforce development efforts are essential for ensuring our labor force is primed and prepared for current job openings, but also those that might be available in the future,” said Vicky Rowinski, director of Macomb County Planning and Economic Development (MCPED), which created the the Fueling the Talent Pipeline initiative in an effort to connect these students with careers but also build Michigan’s next generation workforce.

“So it’s great to see another organization making strides in this area locally,” Rowinski said, especially when it comes to skilled trades. “The Southeast Michigan Construction Academy will be an incredible asset in terms of resiliency for the economy and prosperity for our workforce.”

Rowinski added the workforce currently has 57,912 current openings in Macomb County, 4,051 of which are skilled trades.

Among the top 10 jobs listed for the Macomb County area were:

• Construction laborers, 475 openings

• Carpenters, 315 openings

• Machinists, 304

• Electricians, 263

• Automotive service technicians, 249

• Construction supervisors, 159

• Welders, 154

• Plumbers and pipefitters, 152

• Heating and cooling, 150

• Painters, 144

State investment

This past spring when Michigan’s construction cones were in full bloom, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) announced the launch of the Michigan Statewide Infrastructure Workforce Plan, a framework for creating and enhancing job opportunities and training programs to meet Michigan’s critical infrastructure needs.

It calls for an unprecedented infrastructure transformation that will require at least 5,000 workers by 2030, backed by more than $16.7 billion in federal funding.

Projects are expected to include everything from transportation, rail and transit, to clean energy, water, broadband and more.

This federal funding is estimated to create approximately 11,000 new jobs each year, representing a historic surge in demand for skilled labor. Delivering these projects on time, on budget and safely will require a highly skilled workforce in every region of the state.

“We are committed to making sure the historic investments we’re making to build up Michigan’s infrastructure will benefit Michiganders all across the state,” Gilchrist said in a news release. “The Michigan Statewide Infrastructure Workforce Plan will give us a clear roadmap to equip 5,000 new workers with the education and training they need to fill in-demand careers with good pay and great benefits. These critical jobs will help us fix roads, expand transit, protect clean water, connect more homes to high-speed internet, build out our clean energy grid and so much more. Let’s keep working together to make sure we have the skilled, qualified workers we need to move Michigan forward.”

Four strategic goals within the plan include expanding apprenticeship and training programs, prioritizing access and removing barriers, implementing regional workforce strategies that are tailored to specific industries and community needs and building K-12 infrastructure career pathways such as those at Utica Community Schools’ Career and Technical Education (CTE) program.

“This plan builds on Michigan’s Statewide Workforce Plan by setting a strategy focused on developing the state’s infrastructure workforce, establishing clear career pathways for in-demand infrastructure jobs and expanding opportunities for all Michiganders,” said Susan Corbin, LEO director.

Public awareness

SEMCA’s new location will help to fill the growing need for skilled trade workers. However, while its student enrollment has more than tripled since opening the first school in Madison Heights, it’s bewildering as to why this program and others like it are not being pursued by more young people.

This was the question posed by a Skilled Trade Insight Research Study commissioned by the Skilled Careers Coalition to students, counselors and parents. These were the findings of their study according to an article by Construction Executive.

• 76% of all respondents agreed that a career in the skilled trades can lead to entrepreneurial success.

• Only 15% of students surveyed were considering a technical/vocational school or apprenticeship post-high school, citing a lack of information about opportunities as the cause.

• A majority of parents (80.3%), counselors (91.3%) and students (92%) agreed that skilled-trade workers are as important as first responders and service members.

• 69% of students said it’s outdated to assume a four-year degree is the only pathway to success.

• 80% of the parents said they have the most influence on their child’s decision making; but less than half (48.8%) admit they do not have enough information about starting the technical or vocation school process. However, more than 80% felt it could be a good career choice.

• Of the counselors surveyed 53.9% said there is a lack of resources to help guide students who are interested in pursuing skilled trades careers and 90% surveyed said more resources need to be shared.

When Fisher showed an interest in pursuing a career in the construction industry it was his employer who researched the programs and found SEMCA, which offers several different programs.

The cost is about $4,000 a year with some programs being completed within a year.

Fisher enrolled in the program for electricians and four years later passed the journeyman’s exam to become an electrician. Now he’s the owner of Third Coast Electric and a proud alumni serving as chairman of SEMCA’s board.

“He was a student. He worked in the industry. Now he’s a small business owner,” said Ledbetter. “We envision all of our students becoming the next Sean Fisher.”

Southeast Michigan Construction Academy is at 36250 Van Dyke Ave., in Sterling Heights. Classes are expected to start in September. SEMCA also has locations in Holly, Lapeer, Monroe and Westland.

For more information visit semcaschool.org/.