New construction is a good sign of growth in Alabama. With rising buildings come new job opportunities for high school students who want to enter the expanding construction industry.  The Academy of Craft Training (ACT) can lay a foundation of valuable experience before and after graduation day.

From electrical work to welding and piping, ACT has provided workforce training for Alabama students since 2016. The program began in Birmingham as a private-public partnership among the state’s school system, the construction industry and Alabama Industrial Development Training and it now has additional campuses in north and south Alabama.

The academy recruits students from more than 50 Alabama school systems, with team members visiting campuses each autumn. During these visits, 10th- and 11th-graders can learn about ACT’s career-building opportunities, and they’re encouraged to apply with a short essay if it sounds like the program is right for them. Following the recruitment period, ACT holds an interview week, during which students meet with companies seeking interns.

Once interviews are complete, around 750 students are selected to take part each year.

“During the school year while attending ACT, our students have the opportunity to work internships over fall, winter and spring breaks to prepare them for permanent placement upon graduation,” says Mark McCord, ACT’s director of Workforce Development and Employment. “We have the horsepower of 100-plus contractors across the state that need labor force and future leaders in construction.”

The Academy of Craft Training is dedicated to opening doors for students at three campuses in Alabama, with potential for further expansion. (contributed)

For students who don’t aim to go straight to college after high school, ACT also opens career paths that allow them to start earning without incurring student loans, and McCord believes their income can be comparable to that of their peers who took the university route.

“Students that go straight to work are able to learn while they earn with on-the-job training,” he says, “and some companies even pay for them to attend college or tech school while they are working.”

The academy has seen its participants go on to use their training in a variety of career applications, and McCord recalls three 2018 ACT graduates who have all used their knowledge to help upcoming students as well – Jayden Kidd, Aiden Otero and Darren Ledbetter.

“Jayden and Darren attended Pelham High School and Aiden attended Tarrant High School. All three of them went out to work with our industry partners and over the past few years came back to ACT as instructors in Birmingham and Mobile,” McCord says. “Now they are sharing their real-world stories and experience with our current students, teaching them what it takes to be successful in this industry.”

These three graduates are part of a family of successful ACT experiences: The Birmingham program has seen a five-year average of 85 students employed upon graduation. After seeing the impact of ACT in the Birmingham area, the academy’s industry partners realized other communities could benefit from the program and ACT expanded to Mobile. In fall 2023, ACT opened a program in Decatur.

ACT is dedicated to opening new doors for students at its three campuses around Alabama, with potential for further expansion, especially as communities around the state continue to grow.

“ACT is focused on employment,” McCord says, “which is why we chose Mobile and Decatur, as they are the markets with the most growth in the state, and that means construction jobs are there for the foreseeable future.”

This story was previously published by This is Alabama. Want to read more good news about Alabama? Sign up for the This is Alabama newsletter here.