Construction Ready - in partnership with Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers - has graduated its first pre-apprenticeship training class in Albany. Nine Albany area residents graduated from the class this week after completing a 20-day construction education program. At graduation, every participant was matched with a construction job in the Albany area.

Construction Ready takes Georgians through a free 20-day construction education program that ends with training, credentialing and job placement. This Albany class began Oct. 17 as Construction Ready partnered with Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers for the expansion of its pre-apprenticeship construction training program in Albany.  

The pre-apprenticeship program provided participants with the training and credentials needed for entry level jobs in the construction industry. Funding for all the students was provided by Goodwill. 

For more information and to register for the next Albany class, applicants should visit -  https://constructionready.org/career-seekers/overview/.  

“We were excited to expand the Construction Ready program into Albany and are delighted to celebrate the graduation of these Construction Ready participants,” says Construction Ready President and CEO Scott Shelar. “There are many construction jobs open in the Albany region and we need local residents trained and certified to fill those positions.”

“Goodwill’s mission is to change lives through the power of work and providing scholarships for these nine individuals to complete the Construction Ready program is just one of the many ways we accomplish this goal”, said Jack Warden, Goodwill Southern Rivers President and CEO.  “The cost of the program is $4,000 per student so our total investment in these individuals was $36,000.   We are also proud of the fact that each person was connected to employment once they completed the 20-day course.  The sky is truly the limit in terms of their earning potential and advancement opportunities in the lucrative construction field.”

Student and Company Matches:

• Willis Calloway, A. West Enterprise

• Eugene Dawson, A. West Enterprise

• Zyderries Edwards, Oxford Construction

• Jason Jones, A. West Enterprise

• Joshua Jordan, JCI Contractors

• Jalen Perkins, Oxford Construction

• Brittney Smith, Oxford Construction

• Joshua Smith, SafeAire

• Randell Thompson, A. West Enterprise

By the Numbers: Since 2014, the Construction Ready adult education program has trained more than 1,450 workers of all ages for a successful career in construction. Successes of the program include: 

• 97% job placement by end of training

• Average starting salary of $13-17/hour 

• 70% of participants employed with the same company one year later

The goal of the Construction Ready program is to help close the workforce skills gap. The lack of skilled workers is also a problem in Georgia as a shortage of more than 61,000 workers was reported in 2019. The shortage has continued through the pandemic. Closing this skills gap by educating more Georgians about careers in the skilled professions is Construction Ready’s primary goal.