BL Harbert uses Barber Museum expansion to promote construction careers

Published On: 03.25.16 |

By: Michael Tomberlin

BL Harbert uses Barber Museum expansion to promote construction careers

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BL Harbert International used its work on the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum to try to recruit new workers to the industry. (BL Harbert International)

Leaders at BL Harbert International and Go Build Alabama are hoping the Barber Motorsports Park can accelerate interest in careers in the construction industry.

The Birmingham-based construction giant decided to use the work it is doing on the expansion of one of Alabama’s most-visited tourist attractions to lure others to the profession.

The “Forge Your Future” career day brought approximately 120 students from high schools, tech schools and community colleges to learn more about the opportunities in the construction industry on an actual construction site of a high-profile project.

BL Harbert hosts “Forge Your Future” career day at Barber Museum expansion from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

“One of the challenges with commercial construction is a lot of times we have fences around our projects and you can’t get up close and personal, so this is a great event for BL Harbert to really come out here and let these students have that first-hand access,” said Jason Phelps, executive director of the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute.

ACRI is behind the well-known “Go Build Alabama” campaign that seeks to raise awareness about the need to bring new workers into the construction trades.

It’s a major challenge: For every four workers who retire or leave the industry, there is only one apprentice to replace those workers. Add to that the fact that the average age of a construction worker in Alabama is 47 and it’s clear the clock is ticking to get youth into the trades.

“BL Harbert has been very engaged in trying to get workforce development in Alabama moving forward,” said Shealon Layfield, general superintendent for BL Harbert International’s U.S. Group. “One of the problems we have as a general contractor, and some of our subcontractors and other contractors in the nation, is getting people interested in finding careers in construction.”

Layfield said that working on the 84,650-square-foot expansion of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum provides a “cool factor” that will hopefully sell young people on the industry and the kinds of projects they get to help create.

“We know that this is a venue several people from around the nation get to come see, so it’s nice to be a part of that,” he said. “It’s a very cool facility. That’s something we always enjoy – getting to work on projects that have something particular to them, something unique about them.”

Approximately 120 students from Alabama high schools, trade schools and community colleges visited the construction at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum being built by BL Harbert International. (Michael Tomberlin/Alabama NewsCenter)

Schools that participated in “Forge Your Future” include Gadsden State, Jefferson State and Lawson State community colleges; Eden Career Technical Center; and Gardendale, Moody, Ashville, St. Clair, Springville, Leeds and Ragland high schools.

Phelps said that is the exact audience that “Go Build Alabama” is trying to attract.

“Go Build Alabama is a program that was created by the industry to help recruit the next generation of skilled construction craft professionals to the commercial and industrial construction industry in the state,” he said.

Layfield said that companies such as BL Harbert International are acutely aware of the need for skilled workers.

“We’ve got to start having that next generation coming on up,” Layfield said. “Our livelihood depends on it. Our company depends on it.”