Construction Connect lets students learn on the job

R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press
At the scene of construction at the Island Resort and Casino, the job site supervisor walks with Bark River-Harris senior Aiden Wandahsega, who is one of 15 students from three Intermediate School Districts earning both credit and real-world experience through the Construction Connect UP program this school year.

HARRIS — Construction Connect UP (CCUP) is in its third year of offering high school students real-world experience with contractors in building trades across the central and western Upper Peninsula. Funded by Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! (UPMW), the year-long program — coordinated by the Upper Peninsula Construction Council (UPCC) through partnerships with Intermediate School Districts (ISDs), contractors and unions — has already connected students of the past two cohorts with careers locally, helping to solve the issue of the Upper Peninsula’s young people leaving after high school graduation.

Students are paid for their internships through state and federal funds, including through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. When they graduate in the spring, they’ll have the opportunity to join up with a business or union full-time.

Currently, 15 students from ISDs that cover six counties are taking part in CCUP, putting in eight hours a week on job sites. This year, the program was available to students in their senior year who are currently enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes at the Delta-Schoolcraft, Marquette-Alger, and Dickinson-Iron ISDs. All participating students had spent time during their junior year in CTE workshops at the schools, and some took part in a building trades summer camp that UPCC also conducts.

Recently, Bark River-Harris student Aiden Wandahsega has been on a job site at the Island Resort and Casino for two hours of the school day Monday through Thursday. At present, his work is with general contractor Gundlach Champion and has been foundational, but he and the other students will rotate through various areas as the year goes on.

“I’m just moving through different contractors,” Wandahsega explained. “So right now I’m with the carpenters, but then I’ll be with the electricians, then I’ll be with the mechanical side.”

He said that he’s been doing a lot of concrete work so far at the site in Harris, and even though he worked with two different concrete companies previously in summer jobs, he’s been learning different building forms and footings on this job than he was previously exposed to.

Delta-Schoolcraft ISD CTE Principal and Director Trent Bellingar pointed out that jobs like this introduce students to union work, which they otherwise might not know how to get into.

Escanaba student Robert Oliver is also working at the casino construction site. Three other students from Delta-Schoolcraft are in CCUP this year, too, and at the moment are working with Roy Ness, Berger and King, and Master Electric.

Because the program itself is competitive and there are only so many positions available — less than 10% of the kids enrolled in Delta-Schoolcraft’s CTE program are in CCUP — students have to prove their reliability and skills first.

“Michigan Works! trains our students initially with interview and resume writing skills workshops, and then (the students) actually go through an interview process with a panel of nine adults, which can be intimidating,” said UPCC Executive Director Michael Smith.

UPMW Special Initiatives Manager Darren Widder said that during the preparation process, students are given not only “a consistent and equitable chance at developing their resume” but also mock interviews and initial feedback before they get in front of the panel of nine.

“The feedback that’s given is so valuable. We would love to see all employers doing that,” said Widder, positing that it would benefit the workforce as a whole if employers gave people they turned away explanations of what else they’d like to see and pointers on how to do better in future job interviews.

Widder also said that the administrative support UPMW provides, including payment for the students, would be available wherever the Construction Connect program expands.

“We’d like to grow the program over to the Sault, because we have contractors doing a considerable amount of work over there, and we have spots for them. So for us to grow the program, that’s really where we want to continue,” said Smith.