Since 2006, GCA’s Trades Academy has been developing a strong and viable workforce on island. The academy offers the same quality of training and course curriculum that is being offered in the mainland which insures a local workforce that will hold the same credentials and certifications as the rest of the nation. There’s always something new going on at GCA’s Trades Academy. The academy just recently signed an agreement on June 12, 2013 with Agbayani Construction Company (ACC) to establish a scholarship worth $10,000 for students studying HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) technology. These funds will help pay for tuition for first year students who are studying HVAC technologies at the academy. The General Manager of ACC, Mario Britton, came to the Trades Academy and made this generous offer on behalf of Agbayani Construction Company. Dr. Bert Johnston, Director at the Guam Trades Academy adds, “This isn’t the first time we received generous donations from local businesses. In the past we also received funds for scholarships from Citi Bank, First Hawaiian and the island’s Rotary Clubs.” The Trades Academy is always pushing and striving for new classes to help the local workforce. The academy has an open business architecture that allows them to expand or condense class sizes as needed. Right now it has about 80-100 students per week at any given time. Their goal is to get between 120 - 200 students, a goal that has been achieved numerous times before. The number of students might be down slightly compared to the past, but that might be due to our economy and the delay to the potential military buildup. Johnston said, “A few years ago, whenever anyone talked about the military buildup, it was always in a positive and prosperous way. During that time, the Trades Academy got a lot of attention and a large number of students enrolled in our classes. Now people are talking about the buildup not
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happening, there is a lack of interest in the construction industry and there has been a significant drop in our enrollment.” Just recently, the Department of Defense (DoD) reported it will need more time to complete an Integrated Master Plan required to unlock certain military buildup construction funds and money needed for potential Guam civilian projects. Last April (2012) DoD announced that it would revise its previous U.S. Marine Corps Realignment Plan, but according to a new U.S. Government Accountability report, the Pentagon did not completed two key planning initiatives. This includes the synchronization of various realignment steps with all geographic segments of the realignment and a construction support strategy. According to the DoD report, officials estimated that it could take several years to produce an Integrated Master Plan and it may be completed after 2018. Now there may be an issue with funding this plan. Back in April 2006, realignment plans to move the U.S. Marines from Okinawa was estimated to cost $10.3 billion. The agreement between the United States and Japan had the Japanese government paying more than half the cost ($6.1 billion) for this move. But with these further delays, the revised plan, as of 2012, is expected to cost $12.1 billion for the relocation, now having the U.S. picking up $9 billion of that cost. But that price tag may rise since the U.S. Government Accountability now believes the completion of the relocation of Marines and their dependents might not occur until 2023. The distribution plan will include moving the U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam, Hawaii, Australia, and possibly other locations which may also include Korea and the Philippines. Although this plan might seem a long way off, the Trades Academy can help the island’s workforce prepare for the next construction boom. The construction industry is a viable occupation. It’s better to start your training now and be prepared to work when the work comes. If the military build up doesn’t come for another 10 years, there's still a market out there, especially if there’s an increase with Guam's tourism market. With the possibility
of an influx of more tourists, there's going to be a need for additional infrastructure, maybe more hotels or recreational facilities and that’s going to require construction of these structures. A lot of hotels will probably be remodeling, adding on additional space to accommodate the new tourist. “People have to realize that to become a skilled worker, it requires several things, part of it is getting the formal training and the other part is getting experience with on the job training. But the biggest investment is time,” said Johnston. “To get really good at something you need to do it for at least 10,000 hours, that’s close to 5 years. With 5 years of formal training combined with work experience, skilled workers will get into the jobs that are necessary to help the workforce.” It is critical it is to be prepared for future opportunities. Johnston shares a conversation he had with an individual who has been a local skilled electrician for many years, but he lacked formal training. Johnston said, “ I got a phone call the other day from an individual who I have been trying to get enrolled at our academy as a trained electrician. He recently applied for a job and the company was willing to hire him and asked him for his credentials, but he didn’t have any. So when he called me, he wanted to see how long it would take to get credentials. I plainly told him it would take 3-4 years. But the 3-4 years doesn’t start until you get into the training program. The guy was surprised and then quickly said he should have got his credentials years ago.” There is a new programs that is slated to start at the academy, Electronics System Training (EST). This new program is being offered for the first time at the academy. This program was in the works to start sooner, but it now appears the academy will have enough students who are interested in the class to get it started. “We have been doing electrical training classes since the academy started in 2006 and it remains one of our most popular classes we have. But with EST, that class deals with the electronical components within the construction industry,” said Johnston. “Today in the modern world, everything has some kind of electronics within it which includes air conditioners. Some air conditioners even have a mother
CONSTRUCTION NEWS BULLETIN
JUNE2013 | 15
FEATURESTORY
Builders build Buildings, but the Guam Contractors Association (GCA) Trades Academy build trained and skilled workers, this is the basic philosophy that the academy started nearly seven years ago and it still holds true today.