In last month’s edition of Workforce Windup, BYC announced the option for our members to register to obtain a customized, onsite Contractors in the Classroom orientation (read last month's article here).  The goals of these sessions are to get our CAGC member company employees serving as BYC Ambassadors best prepared to effectively educate local students in their area on why they should pursue careers in construction and why they should work for your companies—assisting you attract your next generation of workers!  These orientations include the BYC Director traveling to your business location to review all Ambassador resources with your team and educating them on how best to use the resources during their school visits, assisting your company reps in customizing their presentations and even helping develop a fun age-appropriate project-based learning activity incorporating elements of your trade.

Customized orientation at Barnhill Contracting

Over the last month, several CAGC member firms have taken advantage of this opportunity and have received their customized orientations and as a result, BYC has added over 40 new Ambassadors to our ever-growing roster of volunteers!  Longstanding Carolinas AGC members like Barnhill Contracting Company and Hall Contracting Corporation have both received personalized BYC Ambassador training sessions and many more (such as Trident Construction, Southern Concrete and Batson-Cook to name a few) are now in the process of scheduling their own tailored orientations.

So, you might be asking yourself just why would a "customized" BYC Ambassador orientation benefit my company?  The answer is as easy as this:  there simply aren't enough young students interested in pursuing construction careers and it's up to our industry leaders to engage with them in their classrooms to mentor them, offer construction career pathway information and share with them all the wonderful benefits of choosing a career in our amazing industry!  By becoming a Build Your Career Ambassador, you have a direct connection with schools of your choice in your respective areas.  These direct classroom connections provide you the opportunity to engage with these future generations of workers on a much more personalized, one-on-one basis.  This ultimately allows you a higher level of creative control in guiding what information students are receiving about careers in construction and why they should consider working for your company!

So, now you're probably wondering just what a "customized" BYC Ambassador orientation entails and why your company should register to receive one?  Each orientation is specifically created, using existing BYC Ambassador resources and your provided information (your logo, project site pics, etc.), to promote your individual company and area of expertise.  All of the classroom presentation materials will be edited to best feature and showcase your company to your next generation of workers!  Examples include but are not limited to:

Your BYC Director will travel to your desired location and bring your company employees serving as industry Ambassadors all the tools they need to best represent and promote your company, and our industry, to students.  During the orientations, your employees will be given a review of all available resources and shown exactly how to best use them during their school visits.  Information will be provided on the submission of forms and resources to the schools (pre-visit research activities for students, note-taking tools for students, teacher feedback forms, etc.) and so much more.  Your company's initial school visits can also even be scheduled and coordinated by the BYC Director!

Once your company decides to get actively involved in the Contractors in the Classroom program, your BYC Director will be here every step of the way to make sure all your company employees volunteering as Ambassadors feel 100% comfortable and prepared as they begin engaging with your schools of choice. With all our available Ambassador resources, options to customize your presentations, personalized orientation sessions and the existing relationships BYC has with almost 400 Carolinas region K-12 schools, each and every one of our CAGC member firms now possess all the tools necessary for effectively promoting construction career awareness to future generations of workers!

For more information on the CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative, our Contractors in the Classroom program, to volunteer to become a BYC Ambassador or to request your own onsite customized Ambassador training session, please visit our website or contact Betsy Bailey, via email at BBailey@CarolinasAGC.org or by phone at (704) 372-1450.To make a charitable contribution to BYC, please visit our secure online donation portal.