Build Your Career recently hosted our last of two virtual Ambassador Summit meetings for 2020.  Almost 100 BYC Ambassadors representing 42 Carolinas AGC member companies and over a dozen industry partners attended these online meetings to learn how they can continue safely and virtually promoting construction career awareness to Carolinas region K-12 students in response to COVID.

Attending BYC Ambassadors were shown a trailer of our new construction education video and learned how to incorporate live streaming and virtual project-based learning activities into their video presentations to further customize their socially distanced, remote school visits.  With the combination of our new video and our fully-loaded virtual toolkit resources, our Ambassadors were thrilled to learn that they now have access to all the essential online tools and resources necessary to continue safely engaging in virtual industry-specific BYC workforce development outreach efforts!

Scott Fant, VP of Business Development for Sloan Construction

Former Carolinas AGC Board Chair and VP of Business Development for Sloan Construction Company, Scott Fant, attended the Summit and remarked on the significance of Build Your Career’s immediate response to the coronavirus pandemic by creating much-needed virtual resources.  Fant stated:  “Our workforce is our future and we must engage with the younger generation on their terms and in their language.  Tammy has done an excellent job of building the tools we need to do this, I encourage you all to get involved and sign up to be a BYC Ambassador.  You only get out of something what you are willing to put into it, so help build our construction future by joining BYC today.” 

Sterling Bowen, Senior Director of Programs for American Efficient

Sterling Bowen, Senior Director of Programs with American Efficient, BYC Ambassador and active leader of the Wake County-based Crosby Advocacy Group, offered his testimonial of endorsement by stating, “Resources like the work-based learning NC Navigator System [shared at the BYC Ambassador Summit] connect students to the greatest asset they can have for advancing their economic opportunities, which is real workplace experience. We find this is especially impactful for students in communities struggling with recovery from the pandemic.”

Since Carolinas AGC is still limiting face-to-face meetings to comply with COVID social distancing protocols, BYC decided to host two virtual Summit meetings this year to offer more scheduling options to our Ambassadors.  Build Your Career was fortunate to have both of these online events sponsored by one of the newest additions to the Carolinas AGC member family, Trades Masters Powered by RigUp.

Lori Hardaway, National Infrastructure Accounts Manager for Trades Masters

Lori Hardaway, active BYC Ambassador and National Infrastructure Account Manager for Trades Masters, spoke on behalf of her company when expressing why they chose to sponsor the two virtual training events for BYC.  “Trades Masters was really excited to have the opportunity to sponsor both of the virtual BYC Ambassador Summits. We all know that if we’re going to keep building America, we’re going to have keep bringing talent into the construction industry and we all have to do our part.  Tammy has made it so easy for us to all do our part by creating the new virtual resources and packaging everything with a little bow—making it virtually effortless for all of us to do what we can to get into the schools and get kids excited about construction!”

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, K-12 schools in all fifty states were forced to close for the remainder of the 2019 – 2020 school year to protect the safety and wellbeing of students.  Carolinas region educators then had to quickly establish and implement viable remote learning platforms for students.  Build Your Career also promptly converted our existing program resources over to a user-friendly, electronic format and produced a robust construction education video that allows our Ambassadors to continue their BYC outreach efforts in a safer, socially distanced remote manner—aligning with new K-12 COVID safety regulations.

Betsy Bailey, Carolinas AGC NC Lobbyist & Building Division Director

Betsy Bailey, Carolinas AGC North Carolinas Lobbyist & Building Division Director, also attended the recent online Ambassador Summit and was excited to see the new virtual toolkit resources and educational video that Ambassadors can use while engaging with Carolinas K-12 schools.  “Our recent BYC Ambassador Summit meetings were a huge success because our volunteer Ambassadors are now equipped with all the virtual tools and electronic resources they could possibly need to continue effectively and safely promoting construction career opportunities to our industry’s future workforce, at every level.”

SC Department of Education & NC Department of Public Instruction

The recent virtual Ambassador Summit meetings included two very timely presentations from representatives of the governing bodies for both North and South Carolina’s K-12 systems.  Our guest speakers, Kama Staton with the South Carolina State Board of Education and Cheryl Cox with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, provided our attendees with updates on school reopening plans and how BYC Ambassadors can continue safely conducting school visits by using the new BYC virtual resources, while also complying with new post-COVID rules and regulations.  Ms. Staton and Ms. Cox also discussed the new logistics of numerous work-based learning opportunities and virtual career awareness activities still available to their student populations.

Bill Stricker, Carolinas AGC Utility Division Director & NCCER Administration

Bill Stricker, Director of the Carolinas AGC Utility Division & NCCER Administration, attended the second virtual Ambassador Summit and weighed in on the timeliness and importance of the new electronic BYC toolkit resources:  “The new BYC virtual tools are extremely important particularly at this time, not only because of the pandemic, but also because of the changes in technology.  The people we’re trying to reach to promote construction career awareness are all familiar with virtual platforms and use technology, so the new virtual Ambassador resources will enable these folks to learn about careers in construction in an environment with which they’re already familiar.”

The CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative is committed to putting an end to the construction labor shortage crisis. Through numerous BYC programs, our Ambassador outreach efforts, the new virtual toolkit resources and our robust construction education video, Carolinas AGC continues to build the next generation of construction professionals and a skilled labor pool—ultimately ensuring the growth and sustainability of our industry 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.