This month’s BYC “Spotlight Series” shines on CT Wilson, Carolinas AGC members since 1955.  CT Wilson, founded in Durham, NC in 1952, is a third-generation, family-owned commercial general contracting firm and provides construction services throughout the state, with offices in Durham and Greensboro, North Carolina.  Since it was founded, CT Wilson has been deeply involved in countless community-based outreach initiatives geared toward promoting construction career awareness to local middle and high school students. From being active Build Your Career Ambassadors to participating as an employer sponsor of two Construction Camps at Durham Tech, as well as offering multiple internship and apprenticeship positions to numerous NC students, CT Wilson is a shining example of how our CAGC members are giving back to the industry that has given so much to them!

In 1952, Charles T. Wilson, Sr. founded CT Wilson to provide personalized construction services throughout the North Carolina area.  The company pursues new construction projects and renovations of all commercial construction project types but specializes in complex renovations of occupied facilities. Areas of expertise include historic renovations, institutional and educational facilities, mixed-use developments, affordable housing, as well as healthcare and religious facilities.  In 1969 his son, Charles “Chuck” Wilson, Jr., joined his father at the helm of the company, and keeping the family tradition growing strong, Chuck’s grandson, Charles “Charlie” Wilson III, also joined the team being named President of the company in 2016.

From their early beginnings, Charles Wilson, Sr. was passionate about educating company employees and recognized the immeasurable value in training and educating future generations of workers entering the construction industry workforce value. He realized the key to the success of their company, and the sustainability of the industry, relied on properly recruiting and training more qualified people.  Being deeply-rooted in this fundamental company philosophy, CT Wilson proudly offers three diverse training opportunities (internships, apprenticeships and Co-ops) strategically designed to appeal to various vocational paths, with each of their programs providing valuable professional preparation and networking opportunities.

CT Wilson offers several seasonal internship positions to area high school students interested in obtaining industry work experience to supplement their education.  Through Apprenticeship NC and an alliance with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, they also offer full four-year apprenticeship programs that combine on-the-job training and 432 hours of concurrent classroom training.  Upon the completion of this apprenticeship program, participants will receive accredited designations that will prepare them for careers as craftsmen, foremen, or superintendents.  CT Wilson also has a long-standing partnership with NC State University to provide Co-Op opportunities for students looking to gain professional experience while in school by alternating semesters of full-time employment combined with semesters of traditional university enrollment.

CT Wilson is also a very active CAGC member—with Charlie Wilson serving as a 2018 Board Trustee and a current Board of Directors member for 2019—and they are also highly involved with Build Your Career, naming several of their company employees as BYC Ambassadors.  At recent BYC Ambassador Summits held in 2018 and 2019, Emily Ellis, CFO for CT Wilson, spoke at both events to offer our attending Ambassadors perspective on the benefits of participating in Build Your Career workforce development outreach efforts.  Emily also gave a presentation to BYC Ambassadors attending the Spring Summit in Raleigh, NC on the importance and value of implementing a registered skilled trades apprenticeship program.  When asked to give her thoughts on why more CAGC members should get actively involved with the Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development program, Emily said, “With 41% of the construction workforce expected to retire within the next 12 years, the urgency to bring new employees into the field is near an all-time high. I strongly believe that the contractors who made workforce development a priority today will soon be the only successful companies in the industry.”

CT Wilson truly exemplifies community outreach as they continue “giving back” to the community they’ve helped build for over 67 years.  Aside from being extremely active Build Your Career Ambassadors and even sponsoring the 2018 BYC Summit, CT Wilson also regularly participates in numerous community-based initiatives in the Durham and Wake Country areas.  To barely scrape the surface of the iceberg and mention only a few ways CT Wilson continues to give back, they recently participated as event sponsors in the annual Piedmont Touch-a-Truck day and also led several annual career fairs for local NC students of various age groups.

At two Construction Camps held at Durham Tech (2018 and 2019), attending campers were provided hands-on instruction from CT Wilson craftsmen during several project-based learning activities as the kids learned how to build a tool shed.   CT Wilson has also established a very respectable culture of promoting inclusion and diversity in their recruitment and hiring efforts by targeting women, minorities and veterans to provide these groups with ongoing educational and employment opportunities.

Carolinas AGC President and CEO, Dave Simpson, recognized CT Wilson for being such avid BYC supporters by stating:  “A big kudos to CT Wilson for being named as the BYC “Spotlight Series” CAGC member for June in the monthly newsletter.  This is very well-deserved and timely!”

Carolinas AGC, the CAGC Foundation and its and Build Your Career workforce development initiative salute CT Wilson for their unwavering efforts to help us put an end to the labor shortage crisis in the construction industry! Through educational partnerships and outreach efforts designed to promote construction career awareness to future generations of workers, our Carolinas AGC member firms truly continue to set the gold standard in our industry for what it takes to sustain it for many years to come.

For more information on the CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative or to volunteer to be a BYC Ambassador, please visit our website or contact Program Director, Tammy Ford, via email at tford@carolinasagc.org or by phone at (704) 995-3901. To make a charitable contribution to Build Your Career, please visit our secure online donation portal. To learn more about CT Wilson employment opportunities, please visit their website or contact the Corporate office at (919) 383-2535.