Building interest

Home builders target students for training

By Janine Anderson

Home builders in Brown County have a plan to help replenish their labor pool.

But the plan’s success depends on how much interest the construction trades can spark at De Pere High School.

The Brown County Home Builders Association, Hillcrest Homes, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and De Pere High School are working together on a new class for students at the high school.

Students in the class build a single-family home in De Pere over the course of the year. The three-bedroom ranch has a three-stall garage, cathedral ceilings, a gas fireplace and two bathrooms.

The project should take the entire school year to complete. When it’s done, the house will be sold, and the proceeds from the sale will help fund future hands-on construction classes.

“What it does is it helps the young people interested in being in the trades,” said Mark Bootz, president of the BCHBA. “They have something they can look forward to.”

De Pere High School students lay sheathing on a new house in De Pere. Photo courtesy of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College

Getting young people involved in the construction trades early gives them a head start on getting their first job in the industry, he said.

“It’s not a trade you can just learn in one year or two years,” Bootz said.

Rick Shroyer, a supervisor at Hillcrest Lumber, one of the companies working with the students, said the projects are incredibly important for students who may not be planning to attend a university.

“Not everybody excels at book learning,” he said. “They get to work on every phase of construction. We may not be looking at future carpenters, but plumbers, roofers, siders.”

Professionals from a variety of trades work with students as the house construction progresses. The students do the work, but professionals provide oversight.

Shroyer said his high school had a similar class, which helped him get started in his career. He said he hopes the same thing happens for some of the students involved in this project.

“They’re not entering the job completely green,” he said. “They may not understand all the concepts, but they have a general idea.”

People involved with the project said the students are doing solid work.

Instructor Ray Wright (center) directs two De Pere High School students as they work on the exterior wall layout for a new house in De Pere. Photo courtesy of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College

“It looks great,” Bootz said. “They’re doing a very good job for their very first time. ... People spend their life’s fortunes in these homes. Students need to know what they’re doing.”

Letting the students do the work means the project is taking longer than it would if it was built by professional contractors. But the educational experience is invaluable.

“They’re doing as much of it themselves as they can,” Shroyer said. “For the most part, I’m very pleased.”

In addition to the three high school credits students earn for the yearlong course, they also accumulate credits at the technical college. Don Jaworski, the college’s associate dean of agricultural and service trades, said the class can only help students, even if they don’t pursue a career in construction.

“I believe one of the most important things taking place in our high schools is the emphasis on technology and pushing students to go on to four-year universities,” he said. “But we also need to educate them in trades training and hands-on learning to let them discover what they can do with their hands.

“Through this they discover themselves. Not everyone is hands-on. Some are all thumbs. The people who are handy, we need them in our industry.”