Volume 11, Issue 6 November | December 2015
TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR FUTURE Choose a Career in Construction
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Georgia Contractor
GEORGIA
CONTRACTOR
w w w. t h e g e o r g i a c o n t r a c t o r . c o m Editor-in-Chief: Roland Petersen-Frey Managing Editor: Daniel Simmons | (770) 521-8877 Art Director: Pamela Petersen-Frey | (770) 521-8877
The Georgia Contractor is published bi-monthly on a calendar year basis. It is a magazine designed around the construction industry associations and their members. It is supported by associations and their members. Executive, editorial, circulation, and advertising offices: 1154 Lower Birmingham Road, Canton, Georgia 30115 • Phone: (770) 521-8877 • Fax: (770) 521-0406 E-mail: rfrey@a4inc.com. Send address changes to your association and/or to A4 Inc. Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of any of the associations or publisher nor do they accept responsibility for errors of content or omissions and, as a matter of policy, neither do they endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Parts of this magazine may be reproduced with the written consent of the publisher.
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On The Cover ~ In this issue, we’ve put together some great stories and information about the opportunities that are available to you through skilled trade work. Believe it or not, there are whole industries throughout the US that are in dire need of workers. Unlike their whitecollar counterparts, who are inundated with qualified applicants and whose job market is competitive, the skilled trade job market is full of opportunity to anyone who is interested. It is our goal in this issue to familiarize you with some of the opportunities that exist out there and, beyond the financial opportunities, all of the interesting doors that they could open up to you. v
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CONTENTS 7
Welcome Letter from Governor Nathan Deal
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Letter from Gretchen Corbin ~ TCSG
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Letter from Richard Woods ~ GA DOE State Initiative Offers Employers a Skilled Workforce, Trained for their Hiring Needs
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Road Less Traveled
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Utility Construction
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Commercial and Industrial Electrical Work
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My Future in Construction
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High School Graduate Goes Straight to Work with Holder Construction
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CEFGA CareerExpo Leads Directly to Career for Young Equipment Operator
More Welders, Fewer Baristas
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Highway Construction
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Equipment You Might Use
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What’s Aggregate?
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What About Apprenticeship Programs?
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Distinctive Wood Architecture Combining the New with Old
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Power Transmission
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Building Towards a Bright Future: Construction Opportunities on the Rise in Georgia
ADVERTISEMENTS AECA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Atlanta Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37. Chattahoochee Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Coastal Pine Technical College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GEICC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GCAA Georgia Constr. Aggregate Assoc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Georgia 811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover Georgia Power Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Georgia Trade School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 November | December 2015
Go Build Georgia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover Independent Electrical Contractors Assoc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Mechanical Trade Institute . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover Metro Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 New South Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 RHD Utility Locating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 South Georgia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Technical College System of Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Vulcan Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 5
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Georgia Contractor
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RepResenting geoRgia aggRegate industRy since 1967 GCAA is hosting our 2016 Management Workshop on February 16 & 17 at the Cobb Galleria, Atlanta, GA.
GCAA will participate with a booth at the CEFGA Career Expo and SkillsUSA State Championships on March 17 – 18, 2016 at the Georgia International Convention Center, College Park, GA Address – 9810A Medlock Bridge Road, Suite 202, Johns Creek, GA 30097 Phone: 678-473-0012 Fax: 678-473-0015 www.gcaa.org 8
Georgia Contractor
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ear Student,
As you think about a possible career, highly consider the contracting industry. You can use your skills to build Georgia's future...literally or figuratively. And to acquire the skills you will need to be successful in contracting, enroll at a Georgia technical college, in addition to participating in work-based learning opportunities. Your Technical College System of Georgia can help, starting before you even leave high school. At your local technical college, we can teach you the skills that will give you a competitive edge when you seek employment. We give you the opportunity to obtain work experience and broaden your understanding of what you are already doing. Enrolling in college while you are still in high school is easier than ever. With 22 colleges around the state and a strong technical division at Bainbridge State College, we make it easy to find a campus near you. You may be wondering how to pay for this kind of an education. Good news—tuition is free! Thanks to Governor Deal and our lawmakers, dual enrollment won’t cost you anything but an investment in whatever kind of equipment might be necessary for your course of study. We also know that many students, with or without college courses, are tempted to move into jobs right out of high school. However, if you decide to obtain a technical college education, you can expect to earn up to an additional $475,000 over the course of your working life. How much will it cost? Georgia’s technical colleges are very affordable…and in ten high-demand industries, even offer a free education for HOPE-qualified students. At $89 per credit hour, Georgia’s technical colleges are one of the best values in the Southeast. We have a placement rate of up to 98 percent, and your education is guaranteed: we will retrain you at no cost if an employer finds your competencies are not what we promised. Since our instructors are generally experts in their fields, that rarely happens. Your own obligation to a successful career is to you apply yourself to the job, show up on time, work hard with dedication to a job well-done, and continually advance your skill level. In short, make yourself a reliable and conscientious employee so you can advance in your profession. We need your help to keep Georgia growing. We are a business and technology hub, which leads to demands in a huge variety of fields, including commercial and residential construction, highway building, manufacturing, transportation, communications, industrial maintenance, high-tech health services, and much, much more. Join us at the Technical College of Georgia, and let us help you walk through the doors of opportunity.
Sincerely,
Gretchen Corbin Commissioner, Technical College System of Georgia v November | December 2015
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Georgia Contractor
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent ‘Educating Georgia’s Future’
Dear Students, Here in Georgia, we have one very important goal: making sure that when you graduate from high school, you have the tools you need to live a fulfilling and productive life. Whether you attend a college or university, enter the workforce or pursue an apprenticeship opportunity, or serve in the military, we want you to have the tools you need to be successful. One way that’s happening is through Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education, which provides real-world work experience and work-based learning opportunities to prepare you for life beyond high school and college. Our Career Pathways are designed to blend critical thinking with strong academics and realworld application, bolstered by strong business and industry partnerships. Schools now have a choice of more than 200 courses, within 127 of those Pathways, to offer their students. We want to provide you with an education that exposes you to future opportunities, strengthens your practical skills, and brings the traditional academics to life —and the construction Career Pathway is a great example. Due to a retiring workforce and growth in the industry, construction job opportunities are expected to grow, but the skills required for these jobs can take years to acquire. If you are seeking a career in this field, the construction Pathway will provide you with a solid foundation that will prepare you for careers in designing, planning, managing, building, and maintaining the built environment. No matter what you choose to do in the future, I encourage you to take advantage of the many resources available to help you identify a career that makes use of your unique talents and allows you to serve your community, state, and world – and I wish you the very best in finding those opportunities.
Sincerely,
Richard Woods State School Superintendent v
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Georgia Contractor
State Initiative Offers Employers a Skilled Workforce, Trained for their Hiring Needs Through the Governor’s High Demand Career Initiative, we have had the opportunity to meet with more than 100 employers representing leading industries in Georgia, in order to learn about their present and projected workforce needs. Over the course of those 17 meetings around the state, employers discussed the challenges of an aging workforce, the need for improved soft skills, and the Gretchen Corbin, Commissioner TCSG; Chris Carr, Commissioner Dept. of Economic Development growing need for a Governor Nathan Deal; Ben Hames, Deputy Commissioner, Dept. of Eco Development workforce equipped to Garfield Garner, Regional Director US DOL; Les Range, Regional Administrator US DOL enter STEM-related Wendell Dallas (Chairman, State Workforce Development Board jobs. More specifically, employers addressed a need for mechanical and electrical engineers, welders, machinists, and commercial truck drivers. This dialogue supported the idea that the skilled trade industries continue to supply promising career options to our state’s workforce, especially the youth. Through HDCI, employers also identified a need for work-based learning opportunities to ensure that workers are trained with the skills needed to succeed within their company’s environment. As a response, Governor Deal launched Georgia WorkSmart, the state’s work-based learning initiative. This program is unique because it allows the state to serve as a consultant to the employer, assisting the employer in developing training programs customized to meet their specific hiring and training needs. Georgia WorkSmart offers assistance with the development and staffing of registered apprenticeship, internships, youth apprenticeships, and cooperative education opportunities. Through a strong partnership with the Technical College System of Georgia, apprentices of this program receive first-class education and training under a customized curriculum to ensure that they are prepared to perform all facets of the position, per the company’s specifications. We are excited about this and all of our employment-driven initiatives, and will continue to provide employers with a trained workforce, while continuing to offer students rewarding career opportunities in leading industries throughout the state. For more information about Georgia WorkSmart, visit Georgia.org/WorkSmart Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Ben Hames November | December 2015
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The Road Less Traveled: Earn While You Learn By Danielle Jordan | Workforce Development Coordinator | IEC
hat college are you going to after high school? What will you major in? What, no college plans? Then what??? As a Workforce Development Coordinator, I spend a lot of time speaking with high school students during college and career fairs and I understand that many of you are presented with those very questions and the reality of not actually wanting to go to a traditional four-year college is one that can be frightening. The looks of pity that you receive can be disheartening. What will become of your future if you do not go to college? The reality is not all high school graduates want to or should attend a traditional college or university. There need not be a negative stigma but another plan for those of you who will flourish with different opportunities. Sharing in that same stigma with you are the blue collar industries that are perceived as if they are not viable and respectable career choices. Many people view the trades as a backup career path when, in fact, a career in the trades makes just as much logical sense as following a traditional college path. Did you know that the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported that students who graduated from college in the class of 2014 earned median starting salaries of $45,478, and US News places the average student loan debt at $28,400? While you may have known that, what is advertised much less is that the US News places the average median salary for an electrician at $50,150 with an apprenticeship costing a mere $250-$1,420 per year of enrollment, lasting four years. Yes, some college
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students work or are awarded scholarships or stipends while in college; however, the true nature of an apprenticeship is that in which you obtain the job first so that you can earn your Onthe-Job Training (OJT). As an electrical apprentice you would be ‘earning while learning’ and may very well complete your education with no student loan debt. Take the following statistics as a prime example of unnecessary debt. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in October of 2014, 68.4 percent of high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or universities. However, US News also reported that as many as one in three first year students will not make it back for sophomore year. That would mean that 22.8 percent of your graduating class will no longer be enrolled in a college or university and, more than likely, will have incurred one year of student loan debt for a degree they
are no longer pursuing. The introduction of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) pathways into your high school curriculums is helping to bridge the gap for those of you who already know you have an interest in pursuing pathways outside of the traditional college track. However, there is still a percentage of your peers that are unaware of the alternative options available to them if college is not their choice. The Atlanta and Georgia Chapters of the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) are trying to combat this issue and have expanded their Workforce Development Department. Specifically, the IEC is spending more time ensuring that high school students and graduates like yourself are aware of the apprenticeship opportunities available within the trades by speaking to classes and attending college and career fairs to inform not only you as students but also the parents.
Georgia Contractor
Before reading this, you may not have already known that the demand for skilled workers is increasing and the student loan debt ratio is at an alltime high, but it is! When you think about it, learning a skilled trade puts you in an industry that cannot be outsourced. Therefore, it is beneficial to society to educate you, your parents, and your school administrators on the opportunities available to you as you matriculate and are faced with decisions that will begin to shape your future. It is a win-win for everyone involved when, upon graduation, you start an electrical career, by way of an apprenticeship, as contractors are ready to hire and train their future workforce. This way, you will not become burdened with student loan debts for a college degree that you could be paying off for the next ten years or more. Instead, you will immediately begin ‘earning while learning’ while training to become a certified journeyperson upon completion of
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your electrical apprenticeship. If you are interested in more information on how to pursue an electrical apprenticeship, please visit our Web site at www.iecatlanta.org or
www.ieci.org. Danielle Jordan is the Workforce Development Coordinator for the Independent Electrical Contractors Inc. Atlanta & Georgia Chapters. v
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Utility Construction Great Careers and on the job training/apprenticeship opportunities in the Utility Contracting field. Read below the comments by the President of GUCA. It is proof that great jobs are available, pay well and offer excellent and very satisfying careers. Following is a commentary by Bobby Cates, President of the Georgia Utility Contractors Association Well, the world needs ditch diggers too” was a line made famous by Judge Smails in the 80’s classic Caddyshack. His comment was made in response to a young man who stated that he wasn’t going to be able to go to college after high school because his parents couldn’t afford to send him. His impertinent reply reflects a prevalent opinion that working in the utility construction industry (ditch diggers) is not necessarily something that people chose to pursue, but are forced or defaulted into if they don’t get a college education. This is an idea that we desperately need to change.
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The utility worker is looking through the lens of his surveying equipment to read the grade and topography of the job site. This practice is very critical and requires a detailed oriented person to understand the coordinates and take the necessary measurements to map out the job site.
Georgia Contractor
Recent studies have shown that the average utility worker in the U.S. is 50 years old and that the number of young people pursuing this as a career is diminishing. For this reason alone, students should be flocking to join the utility contracting industry. The recent growth in the economy has lead to more available work and a subsequent increase in utility construction hiring. Combine that with the aging workforce, students should realize that they could be getting valuable experience over the next few years to be poised to step into the management positions that will become available as the older workforce begins to retire. The lack of interest in utility contracting could also be attributed to the nature of the work. Historically, it has been a very tough, labor intensive line of work that requires combating the outdoor elements as well. However, technological advances in heavy equipment and construction techniques have greatly reduced the physical and emotional demands of this work. Employers are also focusing more on the care of their employees through greater benefits such as health care, 401k plans and safety programs. Students that don’t have an interest or means to attend college can have a very satisfying and rewarding career in the utility industry. A typical labor entry position requiring no experience can pay between $12 and $15 an hour. A motivated individual can progress to a supervisory position such as a foreman as quickly as 3-5 years with an annual salary of $50,000-$70,000 and a company furnished work truck. In a 10-15 year time frame, that same motivated individual could progress to a superintendent with a salary in the $80,000-$100,000 range, all without a college degree! Students, I encourage you to earnestly consider the utility conNovember | December 2015
struction industry as a career choice. I started in this business 21 years ago at the age of 18 as a labor working in the field. Over the past 21 years, I have been a labor, project engineer,
project manager, division manager, vice president, obtained a college degree and currently co-owner of one of the best utility contracting companies in the southeast. v
Two excavators are working together to set a utility vault that will be part of larger utility system. This practice takes skilled operators who know the limits of the machine and job site soil conditions to ensure a safe work environment and also be productive to meet deadlines.
The young man is leveling up the invert so that the utility system will work as engineered once complete. 17
More Welders, Fewer Baristas By Daniel Simmons | Staff Writer ust a few miles west of I75, about as close to the dead-center of Kennesaw as you can get, you’ll find something that stands out from the patchwork of suburbs that make up the rest of the city. Surrounded on all sides by neatly paddocked ¼ acre backyards, strip malls, and 24-hour gyms there’s a sprawling landscape of hills framed by vast windowless walls of corrugated steel and miles of chain link fence. An atrium of industry in the heart of suburbia. There, flanked by a NAPA auto parts and an HVAC shop, you’ll find a small brick building bearing the large red and white sign that reads: ‘WELD LAND.’ The building behind that sign is home to Georgia Trade school (GTS), which, like the swath of industry that surrounds it, is largely overlooked and little-known by the locals. That’s because this post-secondary school offers something most people strangely don’t consider when they’re trying to decide what to do after high school: employable skills. Your average high school student plods his way from high school into college in the same way as he did from middle school to high school; as though it were the inevitable next step in an educational process that he’s got to get out of the way before he can enter the real world. If only these students knew that instead of spending four years in college and racking up an average of $64,000 in student loan debt only to graduate and find themselves in a workforce that doesn’t necessarily need them, they could have spent three months in training, come out with no debt, and started making
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$50,000 per year at age 19. This is where GTS comes in. For those relatively few who are aware of the incredible opportunities that await practitioners of skilled trades, GTS is there to help. As its moniker suggests, ‘Weld Land’ specializes in teaching welding but it doesn’t stop with teaching. Not only does GTS bring its students from zero welding experience up to certified welder status, but they also partner with the country’s largest employers of welders to help ensure that their students graduate with a job, and with a 96 percent placement rate, it’s safe to say they’re doing a good job of it. About 20 percent of Georgia Trade School’s graduates go to work for a company called Ingalls down in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi building battleships for the U.S. Military. Beyond the great pay and huge opportu-
nities for overtime, this job also affords you the opportunity to live in a beautiful town on the gulf coast with gorgeous beaches and endless ways to have a good time with all that extra money you’re making. GTS graduates who would prefer to stay in-state have plenty of options as well. Caterpillar employs about ten percent of the school’s graduates and has factories in Athens and LaGrange. There’s also Trinity Industries, who makes rail cars and has a huge need for welders to help meet their massive production schedule, which is back-ordered by almost four years. And let’s not forget about the huge need for welders to work on Georgia’s new football stadium. Steel LLC, another GTS partner, employs graduates to weld the trusses of the new Falcons stadium. The list goes on but you can start to see the trend here: companies that hire Georgia Contractor
welders really need there to be more welders to hire. Unlike a communications degree, a welding certificate will go a long way in making you employable. Despite these massive opportunities as well as the job security that comes with being a welder in a world full of baristas with liberal arts degrees, it’s hard to believe that trade schools like GTS have become something of a well-kept secret. But the fact of the matter is that if you’re willing to put a little bit of sweat equity into your résumé and break with the ill-informed trend of treating college as a necessary step towards adulthood, you can put yourself in a financial position that’s leagues beyond most of your peers. And if your college-bound friends ever hassle you about your decisions, you can always text them a picture of yourself on the beach at the gulf coast and ask them how finals are going. v November | December 2015
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Highway Construction f you ever look for a truly excellent career path and you enjoy the challenges of highway construction and you enjoy working outdoors and operating heavy equipment, this job is for you and you should definitely seek out this excellent opportunity. The pay is good and all companies are looking for interested and bright students like you—no need to look for a job here and no need to be unemployed, these jobs are available today. Here is a commentary on highway construction and the photos guide you to understand better the equipment used and what is involved in building a highway, and, of course, there are bridges to build and culvers to install; it is very satisfying when you see what you have accomplished.
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Highway Construction As a student, you are already using the highway and local roads everyday and you probably don’t think much about it, and why should you? Other than catching the occasional glimpse of a road crew at work, the average person doesn’t have any reason to give road construction any thought. The fact of the matter is, however, that road and highway construction is a complex and interesting process that requires a broad range of equipment, skills, and knowledge Some of the equipment used in road construction you’re no doubt familiar with, like a dump truck or a back hoe, but what about a milling machine? You may very well have seen one before and not realized it but these enormous (and expensive) machines have an underside that is lined with rotating drums and blades that literally chew up and spit out old road surfaces. In the following few pages you will 20
Crane Operator - Other than drilling foundations for bridge pylons, the crane operator is responsible for several other key tasks such as: Moving materials, Setting concrete forms in place, Setting structural beams between the parts of a bridge
Georgia Contractor
Liquid Asphalt Truck - Many road builders make their own asphalt in order to save money, which allows them to make more competitive bids on new projects. In this picture a tanker truck full of liquid asphalt (about the consistency of jelly) is pulling up to an asphalt plant. The liquid asphalt is heated so that it can be pumped out of the truck, at which point it is mixed with aggregate (crushed rocks) which yields the final product: asphalt.
Paver Operators - The man in the orange hardhat is the paver operator and it’s his job to control the speed and direction of the paver. Riding behind him in the yellow hat is another worker who is monitoring the thickness of the asphalt as it comes out the back of the machine.
A crane with a ‘Caison Drill’ drills holes for bridge pylons. - The crane sits on a floating barge and drills holes into the bedrock beneath the river bottom. After the hole is finished, the crew will fill it with concrete, which will harden and serve as a solid foundation for the bridge. The metal pipe in the foreground that the drill is going into is first pounded into the river bottom and the water inside of it is pumped out so that the drilling is not impeded by the water and so that, later, the concrete can set properly.
Water truck wetting dirt - Once the dirt surface has been leveled and graded, it must be compacted by a steamroller before construction can begin. Wet dirt compacts better than dry dirt, so before compaction can begin a water truck comes along and wets the area to be compacted. Water Truck Driver: $30 $50k per year. November | December 2015
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be introduced to some of the machinery and equipment that is used to build our highways. You can get a better idea of what is involved in road construction as well as some of the many interesting employment opportunities that the industry makes available. Taking a job at one of our great highway construction companies will
give you an opportunity for an excellent career that is diverse and offers on the job training. The beauty of building a road lies in the fact that you see what you have accomplished, you can be proud of adding value to the your state or town and allow traffic to flow easily over well built and well designed roads.
Take a good look at the next few pages and contact the Georgia Highway Contractors Association for more information if you like to explore this opportunity. They will be happy to introduce you to professionals who will guide your decision-making. v Water truck wetting dirt - During the paving process an area of dirt around the road is cleared in order to ensure that no grass or other organic material makes its way into the road as it’s being paved. That means that after paving is complete there is usually a sizable gap at the shoulder. That’s why this crew comes through after the road has been completed and lays down a thin strip of dirt and grass seed (to prevent erosion) to fill in the gap in the shoulder. Tractor Operator: $40 - $60k per year
Paver and Dump Truck - Here we can see a road crew paving a road surface without the help of a shuttle buggy. In a case like this, the dump truck pulls up to the paver and gradually unloads its asphalt into a hopper, which is then run through the machine and laid down as a finished road surface. This process is slower than working with a shuttle buggy because the paver will use up the material in its hopper in less time than it takes for an empty dump truck to pull away and be replaced by a new one. 22
Georgia Contractor
Equipment You Might Use
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killed trade jobs, more often than not, require tradesmen to be skilled in more than just their craft in general. They also need to be skilled in the so called ‘tools of the trade.’ For some, these tools may be a
hammer or a wrench, but for others these tools can have four-foot wheels and weigh 15 tons. In this section we’ll show you some of these tools & equipment, what they do, how much their operators get paid, and what’s involved in operating them.
We would like to thank JCB Corporation for providing the photographs in this section. JCB is a world leader in construction machinery, backhoe loader, and telescopic handler manufacturing. They also manufacturer skid steer loaders and excavators, v
Pictured below is a backhoe loader excavating during site preparation for a home. JCB invented the backhoe loader in 1953 and has consistently re-invented that design to the range of backhoes offered today.
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(Above) The Savannah manufacturing facility is home to the ‘World’s Safest’ skid steer loader shown here. The JCB skid steer and compact track loader is the only skid steer on the market that allows for a side door entry and exit due to the single ‘Powerboom’ design. Some machines use a dual boom system which require operators to enter and exit through the front of the machine, making activities like the one shown in the photo impossible. (Below) This is an articulated telescopic handler offering the customer the ‘best of both worlds’, the lift and reach of a telescopic handler with the articulation of a wheel loader. These machines range from 4,000 lbs lift capacity to 6,000 lbs.
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Georgia Contractor
This is a telescopic handler. This telehandler is a ‘lift and place’ model. It’s used to lift and place material on job sites . (Below) Compact excavators are products of experience and insight, designed to be robust, strong, and durable without compromising performance. With a powerful engine, perfect dig geometry, innovative hydraulics, excellent fuel economy, and easy servicing, productivity is first-class, likewise versatility, thanks to a choice of dipper lengths, a fully adjustable dozer blade, and a range of specialist attachments to suit an array of needs and applications.
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What’s Aggregate? et ‘s introduce you to the aggregate industry. When I was young, I never even heard of the word aggregate, yet it is a very important product in construction. Well, what is it? Actually it is crushed stone and it is being obtained from rock mines (never underground). The stone is crushed into various sizes and is used in the production of asphalt, laying down rails, concrete, highway construction, and much more. So it is pretty important. If you enjoy the outdoors and seek a career path that is truly satisfying and very interesting, this one is for you. Excellent on-the-job training is available to you, and the pay is very good. The photos introduce you to the aggregate industry and give you an idea of what to expect. Here is what Jeff Wansley, Executive Director of the Georgia Construction Aggregate Association says: The Aggregate Industry is a major contributor to the US economy. The USGS (United States Geological Survey) estimated that the total tonnage of crushed stone sold as aggregate material in 2013 exceeded 2.1 billion tons. This number seems very large because aggregate material plays a part in many facets of modern life. The NSSGA (National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association) estimates that every American will use 1.18 million pounds of stone, sand and gravel in their lifetime. From the roads we drive on, to the buildings we work or study in, to the homes we live in, aggregate is a primary component of the construction materials used in these modern conveniences. We could not have airports, skyscrapers or railway transportation without the aggregate material that
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Plant Conveyor Belts and towers, Kennesaw has one of the most versatile plants in Georgia. We have the unique ability to produce any size aggregate of the towers and send it back to any location in the plant as well as any stock pile area. With the multiple belts and chute arrangements, it limits us on access fines production and allows us to really focus on critical sizes.
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2014 Caterpillar 992k Pit Loader loading a 1997 Caterpillar 777D Haul Truck. The loader has the ability to load the 100 ton haul truck with four bucket loads of material. With the combination of two loaders and four haul trucks, Vulcan’s Kennesaw Quarry can produce up to 2000 tons per hour.
The 2014 Atlas Copco Flexiroc D65 production drill is capable of drilling 4.5” to 8” diameter boreholes to a depth of 140’ and at an average rate of 3’ per minute. The articulated boom design enables the drilling of not only vertical holes but also forward, sideways, and compound angle holes. The driller’s compartment provides comfort and a panoramic view of the work area.
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goes into modern concrete and asphalt formulas. While the mining operations that produce aggregate material are ubiquitous, not many people are aware of their existence because most operations go to great lengths to operate unobtrusively and in a eco-friendly manner. In the US, there are 5,400 aggregate mining companies operating more than 10,000 individual mines and quarries. The jobs available in these operations range from engineers to heavy equipment operators and from blasting experts to financial analysts. In addition to providing the materials we build our lives with, the aggregate industry provides the means to provide a livelihood to many employees and their families. v
Georgia Contractor
Plant Conveyor Belts
Doswell 20 A front-end loader at Martin Marietta’s Doswell Quarry near Richmond, Virginia, delivers material to a waiting rail car.
2014 Caterpillar 992k Pit Loader
2014 Atlas Copco Flexiroc D65
Weeping Water 048 Many quarries, such as Martin Marietta’s Weeping Water Mine in Nebraska, are highly automated, with much of the plant’s operation able to be monitored and controlled from a single workstation. November | December 2015
Port Manatee Martin Marietta delivers material long distances by ship from its quarries in Nova Scotia and the Bahamas. The ship pictured above is unloading its material at Port Manatee, on the west coast of Florida, where it will be picked up by customer trucks or shipped by rail to inland distribution yards. 27
Commercial and Industrial Electrical Work By Chuck Little, H.R. Director, Atlanta Electrical Contractors Association ne of the most rewarding and interesting outdoor and indoor activities is working with electrical installations, whether they are in a stadium or at an airport. To give you a glimpse of what we are talking about, we have added a number of photos that depict so well what this career is all about. Chuck Little of the Atlanta Electrical Contractors Association is saying it well. In this day and age, living without electricity would be unthinkable. The alarm clock, whether it was plug in or by battery (it was charged), that woke you up this morning was only because of electricity. When you rolled out of bed, one of the first things you did, most likely, was turn on a light. The hot coffee or warm breakfast you ate this morning was probably heated up by electricity. It’s easy to take electricity for granted, but have you thought about all the jobs related to the world of electrical work? There are plenty of them: Electrical Engineers, Project Managers, Supervisors, Safety Directors, Electricians, Estimators, Foremen, Accountants, Voice-Data-Video Technicians, Bookkeepers, and the list goes on. But one of the coolest thing about our industry is the fact that you can say you were a part of building that: stadium, school, skyscraper, hotel, hospital, arena, or mall (to give you just a few examples). Here’s the best part. You get paid to learn our trade. Our program is fulltime work and part-time, tuition-free schooling. What does that mean for you? No student loan debt. And while everyone thinks electrical construction workers don’t make a whole lot of
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This is a crew installing high voltage ductbank between manholes for a new building at the University of Georgia. The crew is forming the ductbank for concrete. Typically you would use the walls of the ditch as a form but due to the large number of conduits and the depth of the trench, we had to make a wide, sloped wall trench for safety purposes. We then had to use plywood to form and we also had to place rebar inside the ductbank as well. Once the ductbank is complete, we would come back and pull 25KV high voltage cable in the conduits and splice in the manholes. money, nothing is further from the truth. If you start and complete our apprenticeship program straight out of high school, you will be a 23 year old person making right around $60,000 per year as a minimum. As you look at some of the photos on the following pages, consider whether or not you can picture yourself as being part of this very dynamic industry. Electricity is never going away. Talk about job security. v Georgia Contractor
Installing a new fiber optic hub for the Georgia Department of Transportation
One of the crew members is climbing the antenna tower to unhook the crane. The crane was used to set the antenna tower on it foundation. The tower has three antennas that can be used to change the descent rate. (See the right side of the photo)
Installing FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) approach light structures at the Charlotte International Airport. November | December 2015
The crew is guiding the glide slope shelter in place on the concrete pad. The shelter is pre-fabricated and is full of high dollar electronics that make the glide slope work. 29
My Future in Construction s we drive around Atlanta or other similar towns, we will probably see cranes and construction workers building beautiful structures and helping to create a new piece of the skyline. The diversity of jobs in the construction industry is amazing, and we could not do justice to introduce you to all of the skills you can learn and succeed in. Many construction companies offer apprenticeship training, and the technical colleges in your neighborhood can help you to learn a trade that fits your talent and interest. What is important for you to understand is that whether you consider plumbing, mechanical HVAC installations, framing of a building with steel or wood, roofing, or electrical or low voltage wiring, it is interesting, important, and very satisfying because you can see what you build and be proud of your achievement.v
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High School Graduate Goes Straight to Work with Holder Construction or many high school graduates, college or technical school isn’t the default career path. Some, such as Corey Grant, are eager to get right to work. Grant, a 2015 graduate of Allatoona High School in Acworth, has been employed as an entry-level laborer with Atlanta’s Holder Construction Company since June. In that time, he says, “I’ve done everything from push a broom to use an 80-pound jackhammer to tear up concrete. It just depends on the day.” Grant has, in a sense, spent much of his life preparing for his new career. He grew up around the business, with his parents, a brother, an uncle, and an aunt all working for Inglett & Stubbs Electrical Contractors. He also gained plenty of hands-on experience at Allatoona, where he took three years of construction classes and built everything from sheds to stairs to podiums. He showed a knack for carpentry, finishing second and third in the 2013 and 2014 State SkillsUSA competitions hosted by the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia (CEFGA). He returned to SkillsUSA his senior year and took first in carpentry, earning him a trip to the national competition in Louisville, Kentucky, where he finished 13th. With graduation approaching, Grant knew he wanted to pursue a construction career, and he was familiar with Holder through his family connections in the Atlanta-area construction community. When he approached the company for an interview, management was happy to meet with him.
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“Corey is a great example of somebody who has strong aptitude and intelligence, but just didn’t feel like college or technical school was the next step for him,” says Ryan Byars, a senior project manager for Holder. Byars says Holder makes a priority of developing relationships and investing in young people like Grant. “As an industry, we’ve struggled with getting young people into the trades and into the workforce, so working with
CEFGA and reaching out across the state has become a really big focus for our company.” Grant’s supervisor, Cory English, also started as an hourly associate and has moved up to his current role of running job sites himself. Byars says, “That’s a nice connection, for [English] to have Corey under his wing and develop him and mold him, so he can hopefully have a long-term career with Holder.” Indeed, Grant aspires to a leaderGeorgia Contractor
ship role one day, a goal that has roots in his high school construction program. “I always had a lot of responsibility there,” he recalls, “trying to lead others and help them learn. That was probably the biggest way it helped me [prepare for a career]. “I like this company because it’s performance-based,” he continues. “I want to try to move up and become a superintendent as soon as possible, and I feel like this would be the best place to do that.” Meanwhile he’ll continue his onthe-job education. Most recently, he worked on a large residential addition project in Buckhead. Next, he’ll move on to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the future Atlanta Falcons home being built by a partnership that includes Holder Construction. Grant admittedly has made a few rookie mistakes—“fortunately nothing that hasn’t been fixable,” he says with a laugh—and he acknowledges occasionally being picked on as the youngest crew member. But he’s determined to succeed and he recognizes that hard work will help him do so. “Don’t be lazy”—that’s Grant’s advice for a young person eyeing a construction career. “Be ready to work your tail off. You have to be diligent and careful and respectful of authority—definitely don’t try to come in and tell people what to do.” Grant’s advice echoes what Byars preaches as an advocate for workforce development. “Construction is hard work,” Byars says. “It’s not sitting at a desk—it’s physically demanding, and mentally demanding as well. “The high school construction programs that have NCCER curriculum, which gives students the tools to adapt to what the construction industry requires, is very important for us. The employability skills that come from the Skills USA competitions are also important. Carpentry, for examNovember | December 2015
ple, is a very intense competition and requires practice and learning about mental strength and overcoming fatigue. “All of those things apply directly to construction. We are an industry that lives and dies by great trades and craftsmen, so workforce development is one of the biggest focuses that Holder has right now as a company.” Grant’s spot on the Holder payroll is evidence that such an approach pays off. And for Grant, the payoff
comes in seeing the results of a hands-on job. “I like to be able to point at a building and say, ‘Hey, I had a hand in building that.’ That will be there for many years,” he says. “I think that’s cool.” Story and photos by Al Allen Allnoch, feature writer for CEFGA—the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia. Founded in 1993, CEFGA is building opportunities for Georgia. www.cefga.org v 33
CEFGA CareerExpo Leads Directly to Career for Young Equipment Operator hen John Dolsak climbed onto a trackhoe at the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia’s 2014 CareerExpo, he had no idea he was about to lay the groundwork for a new career. Dolsak, a senior at Fayetteville’s Whitewater High School at the time, was attending his first CEFGA CareerExpo. He had come as part of an automotive service team for the concurrent SkillsUSA competition, and was merely test-driving the excavator, one of several machines students are invited to check out in a demo area outside the Georgia International Convention Center. But watching from nearby was Ed Shipley, a vice president for Ronny D. Jones Enterprises (RDJE). Shipley was helping supervise the demo operation and, like a big league scout at a high school baseball game, he knew talent when he saw it. “It was very obvious in the first minute or so that John had run a tractor before and knew what he was doing,” Shipley recalls. “I yelled over to the guy who was supervising that area and said, ‘When he gets off, send him to talk to me.’” The two chatted and Dolsak left with Shipley’s business card and an invitation to work for Newnan-based RDJE, a full-service construction company, when he finished high school. Dolsak kept in touch and was hired by RDJE in May 2014 The CareerExpo is designed for such networking opportunities. The most recent event, in March 2015, gave more than 5,000 high school and college-age students access to some 1,200 industry personnel, plus a first-
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hand look at every aspect of the construction business. For Dolsak, it was “an opportunity to meet and talk to somebody who was in the industry. If I hadn’t met Ed there, I probably wouldn’t be in a job like this.” Although Dolsak grew up around construction—his father and grandfather had a Florida-based marine construction business that specialized in building docks—he focused on automotive work at Whitewater. He ran the school’s auto shop and did everything from oil changes to transmission rebuilds to engine swaps. He was good at it, but he had a nagging sense that automotive wasn’t exactly his career calling. “I like doing
it on my own,” Dolsak says, “but I wouldn’t want to do it as a full-time job.” Shipley was correct in recognizing Dolsak’s experience on a trackhoe. He had spent “20 hours or so” running one on a family farm in North Carolina. Dolsak recalls times from his boyhood when “I would see equipment on the side of the road and it always interested me.” Now 20, Dolsak spends most of his time for RDJE running a wheel loader. His supervisors say his natural ability is nicely complemented by a willingness to learn and a strong work ethic. “He had a good mechanical background, but he didn’t know a lot about Georgia Contractor
what we were doing when he first came to work,” foreman Tim Tittle recalls. “He watched and he learned how to run the loader real fast. It’s hard to find young people who learn and work as hard as John does.” Shipley agrees, adding that Dolsak is “not afraid to work.” “I’ve learned a lot from people in the company,” says Dolsak, who has worked on numerous jobs in the metro Atlanta area and as far away as Columbus. “I learned a lot from a crew I worked with in Griffin over the summer, doing 12-inch waterline and mov-
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ing road. I got to dig a lot on that job.” Watching Dolsak at the controls of the loader, it’s clear he’s confident and in his element. But he’s not arrogant, and he advises prospective young laborers to adopt a similar attitude if they hope to succeed in the business. “I like operating,” he says. “I was interested in it and I would watch other people do it and just to try to picture how I would do it. But you can’t just jump in and do that right away. A lot of people say they want to be an operator, but it takes time. The main thing is
show up to work and don’t come in thinking you know everything.” It does help, however, to know people—people like Ed Shipley, for example. As Dolsak learned at the CEFGA CareerExpo, trackhoe skills can open a door, but networking can lead to a full-time spot in the driver’s seat. Story and photos by Al Allen Allnoch, feature writer for CEFGA - the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia. Founded in 1993, CEFGA is Building Opportunities for Georgia. www.cefga.org v
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What About Apprenticeship Programs? nemployment in the United Stats has fallen to below six percent, and yet the most recent figures indicated that 9.3 million American are unemployed while well over 4.5 million jobs cannot be filled due to skills shortage. One solution to this problem could be a German style apprenticeship program essentially for everybody coming out of school. The purpose of this article is to have a look at vocational training in Germany and in what way such programs could be employed here. Governor Deal of Georgia is moving in the direction of apprenticeships and signed up 30 companies prepared to give students an opportunity of learning on the job. He has also engaged the Technical College System of Georgia to create a supplementary vocational training program for these students to provide a rounded educational experience and offer employers a worker well prepared for the job he has trained for. Governor Deal introduced this new program on October 26 at King’s Hawaiian. It is called ‘Georgia WorkSmart’ a statewide apprenticeship concept that will ultimately cover all industries, from manufacturing to construction, from transportation to logistics. How does the German system work and to what degree might we be able to duplicate their very successful approach?
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The German education system. In Germany, education has traditionally been held in very high regard. The education system is the responsibility of the individual states, it is organized publically and independently, financed by the state and is largely free of 36
charge. Studying, vocational training, and further training are accessible to everyone, provided they have the necessary school qualifications and educational certificates. About 96 per cent of all five-yearolds attend kindergarten and so experience their first taste of education. Children in Germany have to go to school from the age of six, whereby several states have already brought full-time compulsory education forward by one or two years. With a few exceptions, all children attend primary school for four years. At the end of primary school, an evaluation is made for the student as to the type of secondary school he will attend. Depending on students’ achievements, there are three types of secondary school available: lower secondary school, intermediate secondary school or upper secondary
school (Gymnasium, the equivalent of high school) ). The eight-year period of compulsory education is covered by each school type. Special-needs schools are available for children with disabilities or special needs. Lower and intermediate secondary schools Lower secondary school usually ends after nine years of study. The student will be 15 years olds and will graduate with the certificate of achievement. Lower secondary schools teach the general requirements, such as spelling, articulateness, basic knowledge of a foreign language, mathematics, and natural sciences that are necessary for practical vocational training. The goal of the intermediate secondary school is to create the foundation for a higher level of training upon the successful conclusion of the tenth year. Georgia Contractor
Upper secondary school (Gymnasium) Most students attend a higher secondary school. This has two or three additional school years and ends with the certificate of aptitude for higher education. The student is now 18 years of age. Possession of this certificate opens door to attendance at a university or vocational training. Vocational Education Students at intermediate and lower secondary schools are designated for vocational training, but can obtain further qualifications in the course of their working lives. There are two alternatives for vocational training: dual training at a vocational school combined with a company offering approved apprenticeship training, or attending technical college. Vocational training in Germany About two thirds of students leaving lower or intermediary schools apply for vocational training in a school or a company, one third attend a tertiary institution. Even pupils with a high school diploma (Gymnasium) often decide on vocational training. One reason for this is the good reputation of the German vocational training system. Many occupations that require a degree in other countries can be satisfied in Germany through vocational training. In Germany, vocational qualification is regarded as the foundation for successful careers. Even if, later on, people no longer work in the occupation they originally trained for, the original training is decisive for their further chances in the employment market. It is regarded as proof of the intellectual and social skills required to succeed.
employees at the same time. They sign an apprenticeship contract with the company. Here they learn the practical side of the occupation by working in the company under the supervision of experienced colleagues. On the other hand, they attend vocational school for one or two days each week, where they learn the theoretical foundations. One third of the curriculum consists of general subjects, such as German, English or social studies. Two thirds of the curriculum is tailored to the occupation. Vocational training takes two to three and a half years, depending on the occupation. Apprentices have to take a final examination before the ‘chamber’ that is responsible for their occupational group. Trade associations in occupations, and in industry and commerce, call themselves chambers. They award occupational permits and have a say in vocational training and examination standards. The content and course of examinations are regulated nationally on a uniform basis. Early access to the world of employment. One great advantage of the dual training system is its closeness to the employment market. The aim is to train
qualified skilled workers who bring with them the necessary competencies and qualifications for a changing world of employment. The high proportion of practical training ensures that the acquired skills are actually in demand. Payment increases are received with each training year, and on average amount to about one third of the starting pay for a trained skilled worker. Actual earnings depend in particular on collective wage agreements. These are negotiated by employee and employer associations and regulate working hours and pay. Wages differ depending on the occupation or region. It is clear that if we want to create something similar to the German system, government and industry will have to work together and include parents and students into the discussion. Governor Deal’s concept is an excellent start; working with industry and the technical college system opens the door to greater opportunity to students who do not want to attend university. The opportunities outside of a university education are excellent and offer a broad job range as noted in this presentation. v
Dual Training Apprentices play a joint role in the dual system: they are students and November | December 2015
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Distinctive Wood Architecture Combining the New with Old Case: extension project of the Paris Préfecture de Police headquarters new reception building is being built at the police headquarters right in the heart of the old centre of Paris, and the wooden frame structures for this building are going to be made from Kerto® LVL. “A wooden structure was chosen because it is light and can be built quickly,” explains the architect behind the building, Fabienne Bulle. The structures are made up of 30 Kerto LVL wood frames, which make the building’s long span lengths and large interior spaces possible. The construction site is surrounded by protected buildings, which means that foundation work had to be kept to a minimum. The pre-fabricated frame elements were brought to the site when the roads were quiet and were erected during the day. “Construction based on wooden elements significantly reduces construction time, and the light wood can be handled on site without the need for heavy machinery, minimizing the drawbacks caused by building in a busy city centre,” says Bulle. In France, Fabienne Bulle is known for promoting wooden architecture, and she wants to increase the use of wood in both public and urban construction. For example, thanks to its lightness, wood could be used in building additional floors in old buildings. “When you use Kerto LVL, you can do more than just add floors to the roof of the building; you can create more distinctive architecture. Kerto LVL works well with long span lengths and is therefore ideal for building covered colonnades, for example,” says Bulle. In addition to its lightness, Bulle
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highlights how quick it is to build with wood. The installation of factory-produced wooden elements brings noticeable cost savings as construction time is cut significantly. “Another benefit of light, wooden elements is that the amount of construction waste is reduced drastically, and we make further savings as we only need to use light machinery.” The benefits of wooden frames lie in lightness and speed Bulle first started using Kerto LVL 15 years ago in two care homes for disabled people in Normandy. Now she is using it, in addition to the reception building, in an extensive school project in Northern France. “Kerto LVL is attractive because of its technical prop-
erties and aesthetic qualities. As we wanted wood to be a powerful presence in the care home, we made the frames from our own arrangement drawings in a more imaginative way than would have been possible with traditional timber. I have always been interested in the protean qualities of wood: in use it folds, merges, and turns into a loadbearing structure,” says Bulle. “I had used wood earlier as a facade material, but it was only later through Kerto LVL that I came to realize its technical possibilities as even sheets can be turned into a load-bearing structure. Our first use of Kerto LVL was made up of large trapezium profiles, which we cut into pieces to let light into the building. Kerto LVL is light and Georgia Contractor
thin and it is easy to work, which makes its use very interesting,” says Bulle. You have to know how to listen to the material. In addition to its technical properties, Kerto is very versatile. Bulle started using wood for makNovember | December 2015
ing furniture, after which she moved to construction, and support structures in particular. “For me, it was quite easy to see how wood can be used in construction. You have to be careful when using wood though, because any de-
fects will show; other materials conceal much more. Building with wood can be a holistic process, starting from structural decisions.” For Bulle, wood offers diverse possibilities, from the structures to the 39
facades and interior design. “Wood is so much more these days than just a simple column and beam structure. For example, Kerto has notable acoustic and heat properties, all in one package.” Fabienne Bulle brings wood to modern architecture in France Bulle, who has spent the last three decades advocating wood construction as well as training other architects in it, names Alvar Aalto as one of her role models and holds him to be a pioneer in wood construction. “These architects were environmentalists even before the time of environmental protection. They favor wood for reasons of localness, climat,e and light. This is what wooden architecture is all about.” The HQE environmental standards that have been adopted in France are expected to increase the use of wood in construction. As a building material, wood is renewable and material-efficient, and the manufacture of building elements consumes little energy. “I have been building out of wood for the last 30 years, and environmentalism for me means both localness and eco-friendliness. Even before people were talking about carbon dioxide emissions, we talked of dry building. When I made my first houses from local wood, the aim was to keep the construction chain dry and save time in building,” says Bulle. Bulle, who has won several architectural competitions, wants to update wood and adapt it to modern architecture instead of just seeing it in its traditional role. “The breakthrough of wooden architecture has required us to change the popular and traditional image of wood. France was, after all, originally built from wood. We have now been able to prove that wood is a competitive material, and finally building contractors are willing 40
to use it and even request in tenders architects who know how to use wood.” “Wood can be so much more than the structural dimensions and it has the capacity to adapt. Building from wood has been rejected for cultural historical reasons. As all our great cities have, at one time or another, burnt down, now we have to demonstrate that wood is an economically viable material and that a modern wooden building can stand the test of time and be safe,” says Bulle. Humane architecture According to Bulle, there is a general change in attitude taking place in Europe, and as a consequence of this building contractors and architects have come to understand the potential of wood better. “For this reason, wood is ideal for use in public buildings where it helps to create a sense of humane architecture. This is quite surprising, but true if one thinks of a large school complex or even the reception area of a police station. Wood lets the
imagination soar. Using wood helps to foster the intimacy of home even in public construction because wood’s range of applications is truly vast,” says Bulle. “The use of wood in public construction can encourage other builders to use it, and demonstrate the humane qualities of wood,” believes Bulle. “For example, we want to use wood in schools and care homes, because people have a need to be in contact with natural materials and to experience the look and the fresh smell of wood.” Bulle believes that it is easier to use wood in construction in Germany and Austria than in France, where gaps in the wood construction chain and the adverse attitude of the authorities have slowed development. “Now the situation is becoming better. This can be seen in new projects where localness and environmental friendliness are taken as clear goals. For a wood construction project to come to fruition, the architect, the building contractor, and the user all have to be active in pushing for it.” v Georgia Contractor
Power Transmission orking on power transmission is one of the most satisfying and important jobs you can do, mostly because you work on project s that are essential to our daily lives—electrical power distribution. What would we do without it? Electricity is absolutely essential, so if you repair wires or cut down trees to restore power to areas, you are doing work that is more than just satisfying. It is life-saving work. Have a look at some of the photos that describe well what power transmission is all about. A Georgia Power line worker can make anywhere from $29,000 to $55,000 plus overtime, depending on years of service. v
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Lineman standing in front of his truck before starting the day. Linemen must maintain a weight below 270 pounds. November | December 2015
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A Georgia Power lineman walks past downed tree limbs after a storm making repairs to get the lights turned back on for customers. A Georgia Power lineman must be free from all tobacco products (including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chew, snuff, patch, and/gum) at least six months prior to applying for a position.
Two linemen, one in a bucket truck stringing wire. Linemen must be able to work at heights and climb tall structures.
An electrical line technician installing a smart meter on a home. Electrical line technicians have to sometimes work in extreme weather conditions.
A lineman viewing various locations and details of outages in order to complete work orders in the field. Line workers must be at least 18 years old.
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Four electrical line workers make repairs after a major storm in Georgia. Electrical line workers must have a desire to advance.
A line worker making repairs on a large transmission line. A lineman must pass the CAST pre-employment test and Physical Abilities Test. November | December 2015
Linemen installing a new power pole.
A lineman explains work what has to be done to a Georgia Power customer. Line workers should have good communication skills. 43
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Building Towards a Bright Future: Construction Opportunities on the Rise in Georgia By Ryan Boling | Training Operations Manager | HB NEXT
t’s been difficult to ignore lately... Whether you’re commuting to work, traveling to visit your family or friends, reading the daily paper, or watching your local news broadcast; it’s not hard to see that construction work is happening all around us in the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and surrounding areas. Now what this means to some, is what often times comes to mind for many of us when we consider construc-
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tion work: loud noises near our communities, unforeseen traffic delays, ongoing modifications to our city’s infrastructure, and the potential implications that they will all have on hardworking taxpayers. While these considerations are valid causes for concern, what can easily get overlooked in measuring the various ways in which construction work impacts a city or community are the multitude of opportunities presented through that con-
struction work; specifically, job and career opportunities. The construction industry is currently in the midst of a generational exodus. The Baby Boomers that have helped to cultivate and shape the industry over the past few decades are now retiring from the workforce; and in their wake, leaving a void of skilled, experienced labor that unaddressed, will be certain to slow the momentum of commerce for years to come. Not only is our
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industry losing many of its most-skilled workers to retirement, but also, many of its leaders and innovators. So how do we keep this void from expanding further? Well, the solution seems fairly simple on the surface... Just fill the void, right? Given the rate at which construction veterans are leaving the industry, it appears highly dubious that the impending shortage in skilled labor will either shrink or self-correct over time. Filling that gap and keeping it filled long-term will require nothing short of the (ongoing) development of a new wave of industry labor, leaders and innovators. We can take comfort in the fact that the leaders of today’s construction industry are keenly aware of this continuous need for skilled workers and some are not just sitting idly by, expecting this problem to go away on its own; they’re actually doing something about it. Economically speaking, this will translate into job creation, higher earning potentials and various opportunities for career advancement within the industry for those wise enough to recognize this need and who are willing to dedicate themselves to hard work, continuing education and personal growth. The challenge for most industry leaders in today’s economy though, is not finding workers. The real challenge, is overcoming the stigma long associated with construction work as being uncompromisingly difficult, dangerous, demanding, and generally taking place in hostile, male-dominated environments. This stigma, unfortunately, discourages many highly-qualified and would-be successful candidates from ever entering the industry; and if we can affect a positive change in that overall mindset, the sky is the limit to the heights where this multi-billion dollar industry can reach. Several construction companies in Georgia (including some in the metro-Atlanta area) are already working diligently to engineer that change. 46
These are exciting times to be involved with the construction industry in the State of Georgia. With long-term projects such as the new MercedesBenz Stadium in Atlanta, GA for the Atlanta Falcons football / Atlanta United soccer teams and the new SunTrust Ballpark in Smyrna, Georgia, for the Atlanta Braves baseball team, employment opportunities in construction are emerging quite frequently in the Atlanta area. Contractors of all types and sizes are regularly on the search for dependable, capable, trained employees for various trade opportunities (i.e. carpenters, electricians, laborers, painters, plumbers); and as for the future leaders of our industry—our upcoming high school graduates—this is a great time for them to consider careers in construction as well. A considerable part of what makes careers in the construction industry so attractive is the wide spectrum of opportunity available to workers of varied education levels. While there are many industries that base employee compensation largely on one’s academic accomplishments, the construction industry is far more forgiving in that regard; allowing the sheer dependability and capability of an employee to be assigned equal significance to their possession of paper accolades and/or good, old-fashioned ‘book’ smarts. Not all high school graduates go on to earn college degrees and unfortunately, there are many households where providing a college education to family members is simply not an affordable option. Many, many people in this same circumstance have made and continue to make prosperous careers for themselves in the construction industry. The myths and misconceptions about construction work that many have postulated for so long are fast becoming fuel for discussion about how things ‘used to be’ in the industry. Women have also emerged to the industry forefront, with many assuming a variety of highly-
compensated leadership roles or, even forming their own construction companies. Young adults who enjoy drawing, building, designing, mathematics, working with their hands, team activities, and being outside are all excellent candidates for construction work. However, not all jobs in construction require employees to swing a hammer, operate heavy machinery or work outdoors. There are several construction trades that work on the interiors of buildings as well. Let us not forget, also… While the workers are out building, someone in these construction companies has to be responsible for running the construction office, hiring the employees, estimating project costs, coordinating material purchases / deliveries, and managing company documentation along with various other duties. The construction industry also makes regular use of modern technology; as it is difficult to run construction offices and field operations these days without electronics, and incidentally, employees who know how to repair them when they malfunction. On average, an entry-level construction worker can expect to make a substantially higher starting wage than the entrylevel restaurant employee or retail sales associate; both jobs commonly held by adults in the 18-25 age range. Additionally, it bears repeating that there are several construction workers in today’s economy that make very attractive salaries; some even earning incomes well into the six-figure range. So, the next time you overlook that ‘Help Wanted’ advertisement, or you’re weighing career options and decide because of something you heard that construction work is just not for you, you may want to reconsider your position. You could end up missing out on your best opportunity yet to start a successful career in an exceptionally rewarding (and growing) industry. v Georgia Contractor
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