February 6, 2006
On-the-job training | Maine community college students gain experience — and college credits — working on real construction projects
By David Raths
Last October, students in the construction technology program at Southern Maine Community College were stumped. After weeks of rainy weather, they stood staring down at thousands of gallons of water sitting in the foundation of their building project, a new home for the Early Childhood Education Center on the South Portland campus.
Their challenge was to figure out how to pump the water out so they could get to work framing up the floor, according to their instructor, Dave Eng. "It was a real-life experience. As a contractor I remember several occasions working on houses up at Long Lake where the foundation became a swimming pool," Eng said. "I told them you can't whine about it; you just have to deal with it."
A real-life experience is exactly what SMCC President James Ortiz and the board of directors of the college's foundation had in mind when they came up with the idea of having students do most of the work on the new building, which will house the school's Early Childhood Education program as well as the Spring Point Children's Center.
"We thought that since we have all these tech programs, wouldn't it be a great challenge for them to build something for the college," Ortiz said. He added that if the building project is deemed a success, it could become a model for other college construction programs around the state. "We first have to get feedback from the students and faculty that this was a good experience for them. We don't want to do it just to use cheap student labor. It has to fit in with the curriculum."
With construction booming over the last several years, the industry has been a bright spot in Maine's employment picture. Yet many construction companies report difficulties finding enough skilled workers. The state's community college system works closely with construction companies to fill that gap by teaching students basic skills. Now, SMCC and other colleges are seeking to enhance the students' experience and spark their imagination with projects like the Early Childhood Education building.
Although he isn't familiar with the SMCC project, Alan Burton, chair of the Downeast Construction Education Foundation and vice president of human resources, safety and health at Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp., said, "Most people in my industry would applaud it, because the students come out better prepared. What better opportunity could they have?"
Indeed, the SMCC students eventually figured out a real-life solution to their problem: They needed to rent a construction water pump. With that piece of equipment on hand, they were able to pump 12,000 gallons of water out of the foundation so the framing could begin.
Setting the ground rules
After getting approval from the state Bureau of General Services to bypass normal bidding procedures, SMCC broke ground last August on the one-story, 5,400-square-foot wood-frame building. The college expects to complete the $700,000 structure in January 2007, said Scott Beatty, the project's manager.
Students from the construction technology program installed the floor joists and wall framing; others from the heating, air conditioning and plumbing courses will install the heating and plumbing systems; and electrical technology students will handle the wiring. Finally, horticulture students will help design the landscaping and install plants.
"A 5,400-square-foot building isn't huge," Beatty said, "but it's a pretty big first bite of the apple for students who've never built anything before."
In Eng's classroom, students learn skills such as floor framing and leveling, roof and wall framing and siding installation. Following classroom instruction, they typically do mockups in a lab and build sheds or modular homes that are auctioned off at the end of the school year.
Joshua Burrows, a 21-year-old student from Gray, worked on the Early Childhood Education building, putting down floor joists and sheathing. "The best part is to be involved in problem solving on such a big project," he said. The classroom curriculum does address the type of issues students found on the work site, he said, but actually figuring out how to compensate for something like the foundation being crooked in spots is much more rewarding. Although the building is far from complete, Burrows added, "I got as involved as I could in understanding how the decisions were made."
Before they broke ground last summer, Beatty said, the project involved several months of planning, as he worked with instructors to determine which aspects the students could do and which they couldn't. For instance, Westbrook-based Eastern Excavation Inc. handled excavation for the foundation because the campus does not have the appropriate equipment. Also, the roof's installation raised liability issues and involved bringing in a huge crane, so that task was subcontracted out to Hardypond Construction of Portland.
In some cases, Beatty said, students will work alongside local contractors, several of whom have expressed a willingness to work around the students' schedules and to play a backup role, completing work that students are unable to finish.
The building itself is pretty straightforward, according to Beatty, but coordinating all the students' schedules has made the project's timeline about twice as long as it would be regularly. "Typically construction workers show up and work all day," he explained. "With this project the professors only have the students for two to three hours at a time, so that limits our ability as far as the typical timeframe and sequencing of a project."
The big picture
Like Eng, Beatty has watched the students struggle with problem-solving on the construction site. "On a normal construction project, everyone working on it has experience and is used to addressing problems and figuring out a solution," he said. For instance, the building site doesn't have permanent power yet. Normally workers would set up a generator and work from that. But with students only on site for a few hours, setting the generator up and then putting it away is a logistical problem. The students rented a generator, and turned to the college's facilities staff to help with the setup required every day. "Working off a generator on the site is more like a real situation than being spoon-fed outlets and lighting in the shop," Eng said.
A similar attempt to provide students with hands-on training occurs at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, where students in the truck and heavy equipment training program have repaved the college's parking lots. In addition, for 15 years students in its building and construction trades department have built houses that the college sells at the end of each school year. "It's important for them to develop the hand-eye coordination to do the work," said Les Stackpole, chairman of the building construction department.
Sixteen to 18 students work on each 1,300-square-foot house, beginning in October and finishing in May. "We keep it as realistic as possible," Stackpole said, adding that an advisory committee of industry executives helps establish the curriculum. His students focus on the carpentry, while students from the nearby United Technologies Center do plumbing and electrical work.
EMCC student Norman Audie, a Saco native, said he greatly appreciated the hands-on experience of building a house. "You become very aware of ˆ and see in perspective ˆ the types of issues you're going to see day-to-day in the workplace," said Audie.
Another program that ties students to real-world construction projects is nonprofit Portland West's Youth Building Alternatives. The program serves at-risk youth, ages 16 to 24, who are high school dropouts, under court supervision or on probation. It has 28 students at a time and two full-time vocational instructors. "We get them involved in hands-on projects such as installing an elevator shaft in our building," said Tom Pearson, director of programs. In 2004, Youth Building Alternatives students helped with the conversion of St. Dominic's School in Portland into affordable housing units.
In partnership with Westbrook-based contractor CCB Inc., the students demolished classroom walls and worked to finish one of the 12 new apartments. "We get a lot of feedback from contractors that these are good experiences we're giving them," Pearson said. YBA students also go through 30 hours of training for Occupational Safety and Health Administration procedures, which the contractors tell Portland West is very helpful.
While programs like these are useful, Cianbro's Burton said there's still room for improvement in construction education statewide. "I'm a little frustrated with some of the things I see going on in our educational system," he said. "There are 31,000 skilled workers in our industry in Maine and if we had 6,000 more skilled craftsmen we could have put them to work last yearˆ These are jobs that pay anywhere from $30,000 all the way up to $70,000 or $80,000. There are a lot of people who'd like to make that kind of money."
But vocational high schools in Maine are struggling due to budget issues, according to Burton, who added that in 2003, when the state shifted from technical colleges to a community college system, they also changed to a different type of accreditation that focuses more on liberal arts than the trades. "They'll tell you they're passionate about the trades, but these programs would go away if industry didn't promote and fund them," he said.
SMCC President Ortiz disputes that idea, saying that that SMCC's trade programs have been growing stronger. He said enrollment in its technical programs is up 17% since the changeover to community college status, adding that SMCC's partnerships with Cianbro and other large construction companies are critical to the school's success. "Meeting their needs ˆ that's what our mission is," he said.
Whether Maine's community college students get to participate in other large campus projects will depend on an analysis of how well the Early Childhood Education building project goes. But instructor Dave Eng is convinced the project has merit. "This is a worthwhile experience for them, framing up floor systems and setting some real beams," he said. "They're getting to deal with bigger quantities of stuff than they normally do in class. It's going to look good on their resumes that they worked on a commercial building."
And even though it takes him more time to supervise the work, Eng said he would be willing to do it every year. "We have a limited time with them, just two years, and as a former contractor I know how important it is to hire qualified workers, so I think it's worth it."
Their challenge was to figure out how to pump the water out so they could get to work framing up the floor, according to their instructor, Dave Eng. "It was a real-life experience. As a contractor I remember several occasions working on houses up at Long Lake where the foundation became a swimming pool," Eng said. "I told them you can't whine about it; you just have to deal with it."
A real-life experience is exactly what SMCC President James Ortiz and the board of directors of the college's foundation had in mind when they came up with the idea of having students do most of the work on the new building, which will house the school's Early Childhood Education program as well as the Spring Point Children's Center.
"We thought that since we have all these tech programs, wouldn't it be a great challenge for them to build something for the college," Ortiz said. He added that if the building project is deemed a success, it could become a model for other college construction programs around the state. "We first have to get feedback from the students and faculty that this was a good experience for them. We don't want to do it just to use cheap student labor. It has to fit in with the curriculum."
With construction booming over the last several years, the industry has been a bright spot in Maine's employment picture. Yet many construction companies report difficulties finding enough skilled workers. The state's community college system works closely with construction companies to fill that gap by teaching students basic skills. Now, SMCC and other colleges are seeking to enhance the students' experience and spark their imagination with projects like the Early Childhood Education building.
Although he isn't familiar with the SMCC project, Alan Burton, chair of the Downeast Construction Education Foundation and vice president of human resources, safety and health at Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp., said, "Most people in my industry would applaud it, because the students come out better prepared. What better opportunity could they have?"
Indeed, the SMCC students eventually figured out a real-life solution to their problem: They needed to rent a construction water pump. With that piece of equipment on hand, they were able to pump 12,000 gallons of water out of the foundation so the framing could begin.
Setting the ground rules
After getting approval from the state Bureau of General Services to bypass normal bidding procedures, SMCC broke ground last August on the one-story, 5,400-square-foot wood-frame building. The college expects to complete the $700,000 structure in January 2007, said Scott Beatty, the project's manager.
Students from the construction technology program installed the floor joists and wall framing; others from the heating, air conditioning and plumbing courses will install the heating and plumbing systems; and electrical technology students will handle the wiring. Finally, horticulture students will help design the landscaping and install plants.
"A 5,400-square-foot building isn't huge," Beatty said, "but it's a pretty big first bite of the apple for students who've never built anything before."
In Eng's classroom, students learn skills such as floor framing and leveling, roof and wall framing and siding installation. Following classroom instruction, they typically do mockups in a lab and build sheds or modular homes that are auctioned off at the end of the school year.
Joshua Burrows, a 21-year-old student from Gray, worked on the Early Childhood Education building, putting down floor joists and sheathing. "The best part is to be involved in problem solving on such a big project," he said. The classroom curriculum does address the type of issues students found on the work site, he said, but actually figuring out how to compensate for something like the foundation being crooked in spots is much more rewarding. Although the building is far from complete, Burrows added, "I got as involved as I could in understanding how the decisions were made."
Before they broke ground last summer, Beatty said, the project involved several months of planning, as he worked with instructors to determine which aspects the students could do and which they couldn't. For instance, Westbrook-based Eastern Excavation Inc. handled excavation for the foundation because the campus does not have the appropriate equipment. Also, the roof's installation raised liability issues and involved bringing in a huge crane, so that task was subcontracted out to Hardypond Construction of Portland.
In some cases, Beatty said, students will work alongside local contractors, several of whom have expressed a willingness to work around the students' schedules and to play a backup role, completing work that students are unable to finish.
The building itself is pretty straightforward, according to Beatty, but coordinating all the students' schedules has made the project's timeline about twice as long as it would be regularly. "Typically construction workers show up and work all day," he explained. "With this project the professors only have the students for two to three hours at a time, so that limits our ability as far as the typical timeframe and sequencing of a project."
The big picture
Like Eng, Beatty has watched the students struggle with problem-solving on the construction site. "On a normal construction project, everyone working on it has experience and is used to addressing problems and figuring out a solution," he said. For instance, the building site doesn't have permanent power yet. Normally workers would set up a generator and work from that. But with students only on site for a few hours, setting the generator up and then putting it away is a logistical problem. The students rented a generator, and turned to the college's facilities staff to help with the setup required every day. "Working off a generator on the site is more like a real situation than being spoon-fed outlets and lighting in the shop," Eng said.
A similar attempt to provide students with hands-on training occurs at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, where students in the truck and heavy equipment training program have repaved the college's parking lots. In addition, for 15 years students in its building and construction trades department have built houses that the college sells at the end of each school year. "It's important for them to develop the hand-eye coordination to do the work," said Les Stackpole, chairman of the building construction department.
Sixteen to 18 students work on each 1,300-square-foot house, beginning in October and finishing in May. "We keep it as realistic as possible," Stackpole said, adding that an advisory committee of industry executives helps establish the curriculum. His students focus on the carpentry, while students from the nearby United Technologies Center do plumbing and electrical work.
EMCC student Norman Audie, a Saco native, said he greatly appreciated the hands-on experience of building a house. "You become very aware of ˆ and see in perspective ˆ the types of issues you're going to see day-to-day in the workplace," said Audie.
Another program that ties students to real-world construction projects is nonprofit Portland West's Youth Building Alternatives. The program serves at-risk youth, ages 16 to 24, who are high school dropouts, under court supervision or on probation. It has 28 students at a time and two full-time vocational instructors. "We get them involved in hands-on projects such as installing an elevator shaft in our building," said Tom Pearson, director of programs. In 2004, Youth Building Alternatives students helped with the conversion of St. Dominic's School in Portland into affordable housing units.
In partnership with Westbrook-based contractor CCB Inc., the students demolished classroom walls and worked to finish one of the 12 new apartments. "We get a lot of feedback from contractors that these are good experiences we're giving them," Pearson said. YBA students also go through 30 hours of training for Occupational Safety and Health Administration procedures, which the contractors tell Portland West is very helpful.
While programs like these are useful, Cianbro's Burton said there's still room for improvement in construction education statewide. "I'm a little frustrated with some of the things I see going on in our educational system," he said. "There are 31,000 skilled workers in our industry in Maine and if we had 6,000 more skilled craftsmen we could have put them to work last yearˆ These are jobs that pay anywhere from $30,000 all the way up to $70,000 or $80,000. There are a lot of people who'd like to make that kind of money."
But vocational high schools in Maine are struggling due to budget issues, according to Burton, who added that in 2003, when the state shifted from technical colleges to a community college system, they also changed to a different type of accreditation that focuses more on liberal arts than the trades. "They'll tell you they're passionate about the trades, but these programs would go away if industry didn't promote and fund them," he said.
SMCC President Ortiz disputes that idea, saying that that SMCC's trade programs have been growing stronger. He said enrollment in its technical programs is up 17% since the changeover to community college status, adding that SMCC's partnerships with Cianbro and other large construction companies are critical to the school's success. "Meeting their needs ˆ that's what our mission is," he said.
Whether Maine's community college students get to participate in other large campus projects will depend on an analysis of how well the Early Childhood Education building project goes. But instructor Dave Eng is convinced the project has merit. "This is a worthwhile experience for them, framing up floor systems and setting some real beams," he said. "They're getting to deal with bigger quantities of stuff than they normally do in class. It's going to look good on their resumes that they worked on a commercial building."
And even though it takes him more time to supervise the work, Eng said he would be willing to do it every year. "We have a limited time with them, just two years, and as a former contractor I know how important it is to hire qualified workers, so I think it's worth it."
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