Daytona Beach Community College plans to offer a 1-semester construction course in August. Twenty students will build a house or two while learning masonry, framing, flooring, roofing, exterior and interior finishing, and installation of doors and windows.
The Volusia Home Builders Association is applauding the college's foray into teaching construction skills, although one college trustee questions the move.
Gerald Frisby, DBCC's associate vice president for workforce education, said the state Department of Education is offering colleges $750,000 for new programs or enhancements to existing programs. DBCC submitted plans to start the construction class and another to train medical lab technicians, but ranked the building construction course a top priority.'Our feeling is we've got to do more of those kinds of things,' Frisby said. 'We have to look at who we're serving.'The county's booming construction industry -- doubly taxed by hundreds of hurricane-damaged homes -- has been hurt by a lack of skilled labor.
Kevin Kronk, president of Brentwood Homes, calls the labor shortage combined with the increased demand 'the No. 1 issue we face.'Brentwood is even looking out of state for people with framing skills, Kronk said.'You can find plenty of crummy framers,' he said. 'Finding good framers is difficult.'Part of the reason for that seems to be a generation gap, homebuilders say.
Steve Conley, president of both the Volusia Home Builders Association and Today Homes, said a lot of construction workers are getting older and leaving the field. Meanwhile, the younger generation is not as attracted to it.
More and more youngsters are working in computer-related fields, leaving a shortage of people learning to install cabinets or hang drywall, he said.
There are reasons for people to consider the trades, though, Conley said. The industry is stable and workers with skills can earn $18 to $20 an hour.
College Trustee Peter Mallory believes the construction industry has traditionally trained its own labor force, and he questions the need for the public to begin funding that now.'It strikes me as a little ridiculous as a college course,' Mallory said. 'It is a less efficient use of money (than other courses). So many skills are better when learned on the job than in a college classroom.'But the homebuilders are hoping the college course can be developed into a degree program.
Sue Darden, executive officer of the builders association, said construction, like every other industry, has become more complex, as building codes have gotten more stringent.
She said the construction management field is wide open for young entrepreneurs who could benefit from college courses that teach business skills, purchasing and scheduling.
It's an idea the college is considering. During a DBCC Board of Trustees meeting earlier this month, college president Kent Sharples said there appears to be more of a need for construction management graduates than civil engineers.
mark.harper@news-jrnl.com
Did You Know?
Daytona Beach Community College was authorized by the 1957 Florida Legislature and became the state's first comprehensive community college. Volusia County Community College, a separate entity under the school system, merged with Daytona Beach Junior College in 1965. The 1968 Legislature combined the divisions into a single administrative unit under a District Board of Trustees independent of the county school system. In 1971, the official name of the College was changed from Daytona Beach Junior College to Daytona Beach Community College.
-- News-Journal research