Not every job in the construction industry requires swinging a hammer.
A lot of planning and preparation takes place before the first hammer swings.
The Kalamazoo/Battle Creek chapter of the ACE Mentor Program teaches high school students about the three professions -- architecture, construction and engineering -- that go into making sure buildings stand once they are put in place.
The local program is led by Skanska of Kalamazoo and a number of other industry partners. Sean Jagels, of
Skanska, helps coordinate the local program.
After school, students meet in two hour sessions with ACE mentors who volunteer their time. Last school year the program had 14 mentors, of which at least 10 attended each of the sessions to work with students.
During the first portion of the meeting there is some instruction in one of the three professions.
Later there are hands-on experiences in each session -- who can build the tallest building out of spaghetti and gum drops in 20 minutes, for example.
For each project, students are required to spend the first 10 minutes coming up with a design, to drive home the need for planning.
The group also takes regular field trips to see buildings under construction.
Students have visited the site of renovations at Battle Creek High School, when it was under construction, and went to see the work at Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport behind the scenes before it opened to the public. They also have visited the air control tower to see how it is going up.
"They like to see in action what we have been talking about," Jagels says.
Today, more than 11,000 students take part in ACE, nationwide. It's a program that educators across the U.S. say has made difference. Students' academic performance, college aspirations and career motivation all are reportedly positively influenced by participation in ACE.
Just how important is the ACE Mentor Program to Skanska?
Michael F. McNally, president and CEO of Skanska USA Inc., serves on the national board of the program dedicated to educating young people in the industry. Locally, Jason Kopp, vice president of Michigan operations for Skanska, sits on the local ACE board.
Jagels says their commitment comes from a concern that if young people are not introduced to architecture, construction and engineering as professions early there ultimately will not be enough to fill the need within the construction management industry.
At the current rate of attrition, within 20 to 30 years there were will be a gap between the number of employees available and those needed by the construction professions for an adequately sized work force, he says.
"As a company, this is something we feel strongly about," Jagels says. "We need to be educating tomorrow's professionals and getting young people interested in the industry as early as possible."
It's working locally. Interest in the program offered at the Battle Creek Math and Science Center has grown from 17 students in the program's first year to 33 students in year two.
"We've been thrilled with our reception," Jagles says. "Students voluntarily give up their time after school. When they could be out playing baseball, or home playing video games, they are learning about construction and engineering."
This year the program will continue to grow as every high schools Kalamazoo County will be invited to participate in the after-school program.
To keep it going, Skanska has eight employees who are mentors in the program. Other companies that take part are
Tower Pinkster and
Diekema Hamann Architecture and Engineering.
"We couldn't do the program without the partners participation in the program," Jagels says. "They have their expertise and we have our expertise and together we can show the various aspects of what goes into a construction project. It's been a great collaboration."
Mentors dedicate up to 30 hours of their time during the school year.
At the end of the school year, the program wraps up with teams presenting a project to assembled mentors, family and friends, much as an actual design team would to a client.
And all participating seniors who want to pursue related fields in college are encouraged to apply for ACE scholarships. Nationally, $6.4 million in scholarships have been awarded since 1996 through the program.
At a time when Kalamazoo has asked its business community to step-up with innovative ideas that will foster a community of education, the ACE program is one example of how businesses in related industries can cooperate.
About Skanska
Skanska is an international construction management firm, ranked eighth in the nation of the top 400 ranked by Engineering News-Record. In Southwest Michigan, Skanska has been at work for 19 years.
Its first local job was providing general contracting services for Read Field House project at Western Michigan University.
The company has two locations in Michigan, one in Kalamazoo and one in Southfield. Between the two offices it employs 105 people. Skanska's national headquarters are in New Jersey and its international headquarters at in Stockholm Sweden.
Jagels says all the employees of the local office are from West Michigan, so there is a lot of knowledge about the local market, but the company also has the advantage of resources and expertise on an international level.
Skanska weathered the state's economic storms with work in health care and education, fields that have continued to build while others contracted.
The wall of Skanka's reception area shows pictures and highlights of some of its current or recently completed projects for which it has served as construction manager or provided construction management at risk (for a guaranteed maximum price):
• Mid Michigan Health's Harlow Sugery Expansion -- 163,000 square feet to be completed in March of 2012.
• Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport -- 90,000 square feet completed in the spring of 2011.
• Michigan State University Cyclotron Building Office addition and high-bay addition for its experimental equipment -- 16,000 square feet to be completed by September 2011.
• Cassopolis Public Schools, 2010 Building Project -- 101,000 square feet to be done by Sept. 2011.
In addition to work on the recently opened airport terminal and the air traffic control tower at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Air Port, Skanska recently was asked to work on The Exchange -- a 200,000-square-foot, eight-story, mixed-use development on prime property in downtown Kalamazoo.
"We're thrilled to be involved in that project as well," Jagels says.
Kathy Jennings edits Southwest Michigan's Second Wave. She is a freelance writer and editor.
Photos by Eric Holladay.
Sean Jengels is one of the lead mentors for the Skanska's role in the ACE Mentorship Program.
Students take a tour through the new Kalamazoo International Airport terminal.
Clayton Martin, Skanska's Project Manager for the terminal project as well as a mentor with the ACE program, leads a group of students through the new Kalamazoo International Airport terminal.