Building Interest, One Trade at a Time ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland and Cleveland Builds join forces to host Trades Day By Rhonda Crowder | Photos by Alaina Battle
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he ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland has been hosting a Trades Day for three years. Cleveland Builds has been doing the same for the past two. This year, the two combined their efforts to create something bigger and better. The ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland has a simple mission: to engage, excite and enlighten high school students to pursue careers in architecture, engineering and construction through mentoring and continued support for individual advancement. The organization seeks to fulfill this mission through after-school programming with experiential learning, in addition to events such as ACE Day, Design Day, Drones Day and Trades Day. This year, with the ACE Mentor/ Cleveland Builds merger, Trades Day was held at the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Arnold Pinkney East Professional Center. The event drew over 300 students and advisors for schools across Northeast Ohio. Precision Environmental’s Joe DiGeronimo and Mike Finley, member of Local 310, served as the ACE Cleveland coordinators. “We have plenty more capacity to add additional trades,” DiGeronimo said at the event. He also noted that the merger with Cleveland Builds shows the strength of Construction Employers Association (CEA) members and subcontractors, Cleveland Builds and ACE Cleveland. “Ultimately, a tradesman is going to work for a company,” said Glen Shumate, executive VP of CEA and executive director of ACE Cleveland, while surveying the room and taking in the successful turnout. Jim Trueblood, senior superintendent at Shook Construction, manned his organization’s concrete form work demonstration. He said it represents a typical project for his company. “This is how we form concrete structures,” explained Trueblood, who has been in the trade since 1991, developing an interest while in high school. “I think [Trades Day] is amazing. Ours is a very aging industry with a 50-plusyear-old workforce. There are few within the 24- to 40-year-old range. Seeing this much youthful interest is hopeful for the future.” Trueblood also said he thinks
CRAFTING CONNECTIONS During Trades Day, students rotated through sessions with multiple trades, exploring materials firsthand while hearing directly from experienced professionals working in the field.
the engagement is “fantastic” and “casting a wide net.” Piero Guzman, 17, a student at CMSD’s Rhodes School of Environmental Studies, is a participant in the ACE Cleveland program. He looked on to Shook’s concrete form work demonstration with signs
“Ours is a very aging industry with a 50-plus-year-old workforce. There are few within the 24- to 40-yearold range. Seeing this much youthful interest is hopeful for the future.” Jim Trueblood Shook Construction of curiosity on his face. Because Guzman’s uncle is an insulator, he’s very much interested in the trades. He hears conversations about working in the industry, among family members, all the time. “I’m interested in something manual – in construction or as an insulator,”
Guzman said, adding that he enjoyed the opportunity to explore options. He had checked out the roofing and electrical stations as well. “It’s like it’s all coming together. It’s very helpful for me to see all that’s available.” Lamya Woodward, an 18-year-old senior at Cleveland School for Digital Arts, on the other hand, has absolutely no interest in construction. She wants to become a graphic designer. But, she found a way to justify being at Trades Day. “It’s good to have a backup plan,” she said. And seeing all the demonstrations made her to want to “build something” while there. “The concrete was fun,” said Woodward, who also planned to check out the bricklaying station. Pretty much every station remained busy throughout the time, with some students waiting patiently in line – such as at Precision’s scissor lift or at the Pipefitters’ table where they talked to the young people about their training programs. James Boggan, from Boilermakers Local 744, said it was his first time attendwww.propertiesmag.com 39