Kameron Walker and Jakaris Washington, working in the dusty halls of a Crowley elementary school over the summer, are learning skills that will help them in the construction industry.
Their job training is at Crowley ISD’s Deer Creek Elementary, where workers spent weeks renovating the campus and making plumbing improvements. In early June, campus restrooms were still filled with mounds of dirt as workers installed new pipes beneath the school’s foundation.
The clock ticked as workers scrambled to finish the renovations before the start of the school year — Aug. 12.
Walker and Washington are involved in the Building Pathways Inc. program to teach high school students and young adults, ages 16 to 24, about the construction industry. The nonprofit’s program targets at-risk people “disconnected from education and employment” to improve their lives through construction careers. Many face systemic barriers, including poverty, housing instability and prior involvement with the foster care or juvenile justice systems, officials said.
“I’m learning every trade,” Walker, a former St. Louis resident now living in Fort Worth, said as he and Washington took a wooden cover off a school window. “I’m learning about demoing, electrical, concrete and glazing. It’s really good. Everybody is helpful.”
Kameron Walker, a Building Pathways participant, was able to purchase a new car through his work with the nonprofit. (Courtesy photo | Building Pathways)
His participation in the program has enabled him to buy a new car.
Washington, also a Fort Worth resident, said he is learning about plumbing through the nonprofit.
“I’m still learning, but I ask questions,” he said.
Louie T. McClain II, a former American Airlines flight standards trainer who is now executive director of Building Pathways, said the nonprofit’s goal is “to transform lives and communities by creating opportunities.”
“I’m major on that,” he said. “It’s about creating opportunities to educate, engage, empower and retain employees in this construction industry.”
Building Pathways, he said, aspires “to be a beacon of hope” for at-risk youth and adults.
“The Pathway culture job is so pivotal to that because imagine we are going to put a kid on a job site. He doesn’t know what he’s up against mentally on the job site,” McClain said. “That personal development. … That plays a pivotal role.”
The nonprofit was founded by Jeffrey Postell Jr., president and chairman of the board of Post L Group, a North Texas construction firm. Postell, who started as a laborer in the construction industry, also serves as chairman of Building Pathways.
The 12-month program consists of four steps as participants learn about the construction industry. First, participants establish trust and accountability as Building Pathways coaches determine the level of support needed to ensure their success, whether it’s giving workers a ride to a construction site or helping them to stay punctual.
Participants, who earn $20 an hour, then work with coaches and staff to develop a career plan in a chosen trade. The third part of the program focuses on developing their plan through apprentice job training in a particular field.
The program ends with a graduation ceremony. Participants will be placed in an apprentice position and receive more training, either with a particular company or a related job training program.
McClain said the nonprofit’s services have helped more than 135 community members in Tarrant County over the past two years.
Christian Hicks was selected as a Building Pathways coach because of his “shining star” performance in the first adult cohort, McClain said.
“He showed immense leadership and supervisory skills to motivate his peers,” McClain said. “He stood out so much that he got elevated to be the next coach. He’s doing a great job with our adult cohort and our summer youth.”
Hicks described his cohort experience in a few words: “It was fun.”
“He didn’t like it at first,” McClain said with a laugh.
Getting participants acclimated to the construction industry takes time and energy, Hicks said. He works to keep the students focused and motivated.
“It’s the experience of construction; everybody thinks it’s so rough and everything,” he said. “You’ve got your good days. Like every job, you’ve got a supervisor you probably do and don’t like. (The program) is to show them how to get by, not just with your work day but with your daily activity of life. Some probably have trouble at home, so we work on how to stay focused at work so you can be safe while you’re working.”
Program participants often start as laborers so they focus on basic work skills.
“Let’s pick up trash, let’s sweep up floors because, believe it or not, there are some basic life skills some youths and some adults do not know,” Hicks said.
Louie T. McClain II is the executive director of Building Pathways, a nonprofit that helps develop construction industry workers. (Courtesy photos | Building Pathways)
McClain emphasizes to the students the earning potential of construction jobs. He said he worked for 11 years at American Airlines before his salary topped out at $74,000.
Workers in the construction industry can earn a substantial salary if they apply themselves, he added. It is possible to make $50,000 or more early in their career.
“They don’t know that they can enter into this industry and surpass where I was at in a matter of three to four years,” McClain said. “They don’t understand that they can get skilled with their hands and they can take this skill all around the country, all around the world.”
McClain said the construction industry can be tough, especially in certain weather conditions.
“Some are like, there’s no way — rain, hail, sleet or snow — I’m going to be out there doing that indefinitely,” McClain said. “It’s not indefinite. After two to four years, you’re literally at a great wage and you can bring yourself inside the (construction) trailer and quarterback it from there — project engineer or project manager. So many of the people that we’re aspiring to reach, that we are reaching, they did not know this about construction at all. So we’re continuously shining a light.”
A crop of participants graduated from the program Aug. 1 with a ceremony at the Center for Transforming Lives, 3001 S. Riverside Drive in east Fort Worth.
Shanna S. Saldaña, Building Pathways vice president of operations, is an advocate of the nonprofit’s program to help youth train for construction industry jobs. (Courtesy photo | Building Pathways)
Shanna S. Saldaña, Building Pathways vice president of operations, said she got involved in the nonprofit because she wanted to teach program participants that they can have a career without necessarily going to college.
“That’s the reason I got involved,” Saldaña said. “We failed in our schools to teach kids that their only measure of success is a four-year degree. That’s just not true. You can have a very successful career. It’s not a job, it is a career. That you can support your family and be very proud of what you’re doing in the trades.
“That is something I’m very passionate about, just making sure people understand the opportunities that are available to them.”
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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