Building careers: Tool drive to help Nevada students training for high-demand construction jobs

Photo by: KTNV

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada's construction industry is growing faster than the workforce that keeps it going. Now, one local tech school is helping close that gap by putting tools directly into students' hands.

Practice makes perfect, and these students are practicing for jobs that can't wait.

Across Southern Nevada, construction sites are hiring faster than they can find workers. The demand is sky-high with school programs looking to help fill the gap.

At the Southeast Career Technical Academy, students are learning the basics of building from the ground up.

"We're trying to give them hands-on skills so they're ready to work the day they graduate," Lucas Inman said. Inman is a building trades instructor at SECTA.

"I've built skyscrapers and bridges and all kind of projects, and those are rewarding, but nothing as rewarding as teaching the next generation of builders," he said.

This month, those hands will have a few more tools to work with.

"The tool drive is about setting these kids up for success — we want to make sure they walk onto that first job with confidence," said Cory Frank, vice president of business project management and business development at Nigro Construction.

The "Tools for Trades Drive" runs through the end of October, collecting equipment like tool belts, hammers and safety gear.

Students say they're not just learning how to build structures, but careers.

"We've had contractors come in to our school and tell us they're ready for us in the tech schools because we know how to swing a hammer, telling us they'll start us at 55% apprentice rather than that 50%," SECTA senior Carsen Chapin says.

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