THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY SEEKS WAYS TO INCREASE ITS RANKS

By John Scheibe, jscheibe@VenturaCountyStar.com
April 20, 2006

College isn't all it's cracked up to be. At least for some students.

Sure, they may be learning a lot about myriad subjects while in college. They may also earn a bachelor's or master's degree, even a doctorate.

But afterward, many graduates find it hard to translate what they've learned into a well-paying job. Many are instead saddled with student loans and unable to find a job.

"The truth is a well-trained plumber or carpenter can expect to earn $100,000 or more a year" while someone with a master's degree often struggles to pay the bills, said Sean Leonard, president of S. L. Leonard & Associates, Inc., a real-estate development company in Camarillo.

Leonard was among the nearly dozen construction industry professionals who spoke about how difficult it is to find skilled workers, be they plumbers, electricians, carpenters or masons. He spoke at a construction industry summit held at Pierpont Inn in Ventura Wednesday morning.

Given the shortage of workers and the high salaries they can earn, why is it that so few choose a career in the construction industry?

One big reason is the poor image that construction-related jobs has among many parents and educators, said Adrienne Monroe, a speaker at the summit. Too many educators also tend frown on vocational education.

"Many schools in California don't have career education any more," Monroe said.

At the same time, the average age of retirement for a construction worker is 47.

All of this is happening as an estimated 500,000 people are moving into California every year.

These newcomers need more homes, highways and offices to accommodate them. "To handle the influx, it all comes down to construction," Monroe said.

Monroe and others want to reach out to the nearly one in three students who drop out of public high school. The dropout rate is even worse for Latinos and blacks: Nearly half of them don't finish high school.

Monroe said she firmly believes that if many of these students would stay in school if they had career and vocational education programs available.

Charles Weis, Ventura County superintendent of schools, called the dropout rate a terrible waste for thousands of students who might otherwise stay in school if they had coursework that they could relate to, especially if its related to a career.

Weis said only about 21 percent of the 44,000 high school students in the county are enrolled in some kind of vocational training.

"We are seeing less and less career education and activities being offered our students," Weis said.

Those at the conference brainstormed ways to create a better image for technical and vocational related jobs, especially those in the construction industry.

One possible strategy: Use the Internet to get the word out on how well these jobs pay and how important they are to California's future.

"We need to stand together and be a lot more proactive," Monroe said.

"Otherwise we face some real problems in the near future."

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