TRC partners with contractors to improve student experience

A new partnership between Three Rivers College and the Associated General Contractors of Missouri seeks to take students from the classroom and into heavy construction jobs.

The partnership will have students hired for a job before they start classes, TRC President Dr. Wesley Payne said at the college board meeting Wednesday afternoon.

According to a release, the collaboration will include career days, community outreach, education on available careers in construction, classes, certificate programs and other expanded curricula.

“Three Rivers College is excited about the workforce partnership with AGCMO,” said Will Cooper, director of workforce development for Three Rivers, in a release. “The construction industry has an immediate need for skilled labor. The partnership allows Three Rivers College and ACGMO to combine resources, providing the quality skills training that meets the current and future workforce demands in our region.”

To start it off, about 12 contractors in the area will attend a job fair held from 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, and 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Arrettia and Hershel Bess Activity Center on the college campus.

“What makes this program unique is the partnership that we have formed,” Payne said. “AGC Missouri has donated the funds to cover the cost of instruction and students.”

Payne said the participating contractors will have the students on their payroll. The students will attend class full-time a period before going to their employer and doing field training, then return to class for the next module. The entire program will take six weeks to complete.

The students would not earn college credit, but would receive a certificate for completing the program.

“We are actually preparing a workforce that knows their direction from day one,” he said. “We have very tight restrictions and requirements in that you have to show up just like you would on the job because, in fact, you are.”

Payne said this style of program will solve some of the issues the heavy construction job industry is facing. Namely, these issues focus on lack of skilled workers and lack of workers with soft skills. Soft skills have come to mean the ability to show up to work on time, work as part of a team and solve problems.

This program, Payne said, will serve as a screening process for the students because of the course work required.

AGCMO member Colby Robertson, president of Robertson Contractors Inc. in Poplar Bluff, serves as a member of the AGCMO/TRC Steering Committee.

“Robertson Contractors is pleased to learn the Construction Workforce Development Program will launch this spring at Three Rivers College,” said Robertson in a release. “The program offers a precise curriculum that will ensure graduates are ready to transition into an industry offering countless opportunities. Robertson Contractors is proud to support and assist those looking to start their careers in heavy civil construction.”

The reason, Payne said, that many industry members are willing to participate in the program is that they see a return on the investment.

“It’s cheaper than hiring the wrong employee and turning them over time and time again,” he said.

Payne said existing employees can go through the program as well, if the company wants them to gain additional skills.

According to Len Toenjes, CAE, AGCMO president, there are thousands of construction jobs available throughout the state, with Southeast Missouri contractors seeking more workers to build projects.

“These are good, well-paying jobs that also provide a great deal of job satisfaction,” said Toenjes, who began his own career as a carpenter, in a release. “Currently there are approximately 122,000 construction workers in Missouri, but frankly, we need more. What people don’t realize is that construction industry pay in Missouri averages nearly $60,000 per year, 20% higher than the state average for all private-sector employees.”

Toenjes said the hope with the project is to enhance programs already offered at TRC by adding workplace opportunities and adding curriculum.

“Plans also call for implementing a supervisory training and construction management program and expanding course work from the OSHA and MSHA,” Toenjes said.

For information on the Feb. 26-27 General Public Construction Job Fair, contact Will Cooper in the Office of Workforce Development at Three Rivers College at 573-840-9682. For contractors/employers/suppliers interested in reserving booth space at the job fair, contact Jackson Bostic, AGCMO representative, at 573-634-3510.