I’ve been in the trades for the past 40 years. I graduated from a very good high school here in Sacramento. I don’t mind telling you that it’s Christian Brothers High School.
Contracting is something that I wanted to do in life but it wasn’t taught to me in high school.
I wanted to get my hands dirty with sawdust and really build something. So, I was very fortunate that my father was a contractor and I was able to learn a lot of the trades through him.
I noticed a lot of kids coming out of high school wanted to do what I did but they had no education on how to do it.
“Students are book smart, but they could not work a worm drive, which is a skill saw.”
Host, Todd Bird
We must ask ourselves: who’s going to be the next generation to build our homes? Who will build our buildings and maintain our society? I can go around Sacramento and tell you exactly what neighborhood is going to need roofs in the next 10 years because the neighborhood is already 30 years old.
40 years go by and you need Siding, Roofing, and Windows.
To maintain these homes, we need skilled labor. So, anytime I hear of scholarships for High Schoolers to educate in the trades, I’m all for it.
Joseph Pappalardo, General Manager with California Contractors Insurance Services, started a wonderful scholarship opportunity a couple of years back with the idea of getting College undergrads thinking about becoming a
contractor.
After graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, he started talking to contractors on a day-to-day basis. Joseph was hearing about how hard it was for the kids to take over their family construction business. Learning about the construction industry does not interest today’s kids.
As a result, the construction world is not recruiting good labor. In fact, there is no one coming up in the trades.
What if we do something to get people thinking about trade schools?
Joseph and CCIS wanted to create a scholarship to give the young generation a vision. He was just hoping there are more young people out there looking for this. Promoting education seemed viable.
The CCIS Scholarship is for graduating high school seniors and currently enrolled college students. Right now CCIS is offering the scholarship two times a year.
Seven hundred and fifty dollars is the grand prize for the scholarship, which can go a long way. So, if you’re trying to learn the trades, my hat’s off to you.
“You’re not always going to have a hammer in one hand and a skill saw in the other.”
Host, Todd Bird
When it comes to the Building Trades, it goes across the board. Let me focus on building inspectors for a second. Building inspectors today, or most of them, are coming out of college with their management degree.
I got to tell you, I’m a little old-school. In my day, building inspectors were the plumber and then they retired in the building department. They were electricians before they went into inspections. They were the roofer before they went into code enforcement.
The truth is, you get paid really well while working and doing something you like.
What type of student is the scholarship for?
Joseph says they want to challenge young contractors to consider continuing their education or going out there and starting to work right after high school.
“Think about what course is beneficial and think about how you know what the point of your education is. We want the most engaging essay that is well thought out.”
Joseph Pappalardo
These young minds, young scholars of construction can get the scholarship information through Facebook, or search the website, CCISbonds.com, for ‘scholarship’ and its application.
Future interns and undergraduates will run the world soon. It’s an easy scholarship to apply for, so take the time to apply. I wish I had this opportunity.
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