Working for A Living
There’s no place to learn like on the jobIOWA FALLS - The ultimate goal of any college program is to advance a student's education and prepare the student for the next phase of his/her life, be it a four-year college or university for a bachelor's degree, or a full-time job with benefits and the potential to advance and be successful for a lifetime.
Students enrolled in Ellsworth Community College's second year Commercial Carpentry program are working toward an Associate in Applied Science Degree. That program prepares them to enter the job market in the field of home or commercial construction, or to work toward a Master's License and/or a bachelor's degree at a college or university.
"By the second year of this program, students are ready to gain a practical sense of how their skills will fit into a career by applying them in a work setting," says Daryl Wiese, ECC associate professor of carpentry. "We spend about eight weeks in the classroom studying materials and methods used in the commercial construction industry, concrete and reinforcement skills, and the theory and knowledge of human relations and supervision in business and industry."
Wiese says a lot of the second year is focused on achieving accuracy. Students must learn to apply their skills in the field, under field conditions not always a nice level building site in the sunshine. The students must learn to solve problems they might encounter under real commercial construction environments.
Students are assigned one-on-one with a supervisor who typically starts by taking a student through the entire system at the company from the bidder to the plumber to the site manager. This helps students see how all the parts fit together to complete a project. It also helps students see how many different options there are for specializing.
Jared Faris, son of Jeffery Faris of Owasa, and Brian Greenfield, son of James and Phyllis Greenfield of Williams, plan to get jobs in construction after they graduate from ECC in May. Gonzalo Moreno, son of Lety and Osiel Moreno of Ackley, is heading to a four-year college first, and then hopes to
find his dream job.
All three students chose ECC for the construction program and because it is close to their homes. Jared worked on projects in New Hampton and Lamberton, MN.
"It gave me a good taste of the real world of work and helped me understand what has to happen with a project and the work hours of the job," says Jared. "The ECC carpentry program is a good program with a good life experience. If construction is your choice, ECC has a good teaching
environment."
Brian worked for Holland Contracting Corp., the contractor on the ECC Equine Center. "The thing I like most about commercial carpentry is that we get to work with different materials," says Brian. "I've learned the names of the different materials and that is really important on a job. I'd encourage high school students to pay attention to their instructors because you need a good background for all aspects of construction."
Gonzalo says he came back for the second year of the program because he wanted to learn the commercial side of construction.
"Knowing about both the residential and commercial aspects of construction and knowing how to do a lot of different things will help me get a good job. I won't lose that job to somebody else because I didn't know how to do it."
ECC's OJT employers often want the students who have good skills and have shown a good work ethic, to continue in an apprenticeship. The connections ECC construction students make through OJT are very important. Brian is hoping to continue working for his OJT employer when he graduates.
Kevin Griffith, Brian's supervisor at Woodruff Construction says his company has found that the quality of workers off the street has been getting lower and lower.
"By getting students on OJT we have a more qualified entry level workforce. The residential market is boom or bust. Commercial carpentry gives the students diversity in their skills and experience."
"Our students have been involved in some great projects," adds Wiese. "They have seen what value there is in what they build and have really taken pride in their projects. That makes a huge difference in how they feel about their career. With job shortages in the current economy, it is the right time to get your education. In addition to actual construction jobs, there will be a great need for industrial technology teachers to replace those who retire in the near future."
For more information about the ECC Commercial Carpentry program, and for a tour of the ECC campus and the carpentry program facilities, contact Daryl Wiese at 641-648-8661, or toll-free at 800-322-9235, or visit the ECC web site at EllsworthCollege.com to learn more.
