Immersion Experience Drives Construction Career Interest in Maine

This article was originally published in ACTE Techniques – February 2025 Edition. 

 

Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Maine, located in Augusta, Maine, is a statewide trade membership organization representing all aspects of commercial construction, including the building trades, energy and industrial construction and transportation infrastructure construction. AGC Maine functions as a channel for workforce development efforts between the construction industry and the career and technical education (CTE) community in the Pine Tree State.

Kelly Flagg, executive director at AGC Maine, is an enthusiastic advocate and spokesperson for AGC Maine’s Construction Academy (also known as the construction immersion program), which was designed by Flagg and her staff in the fall of 2022. As a pre-apprenticeship, the free program is designed to help students ages 16–20 enter and succeed in a Registered Apprenticeship with local companies throughout Maine.

Participants

Flagg, who has a background in training, described the framework of the program and AGC’s role working as the apparatus between contractors and schools.

“Our state is rural. When we designed the program, we weren’t expecting folks from our northern border to come to Augusta, which is five to six hours away,” she said. “We chose to install programs within those communities to make sure we were serving the local youth and contractors.”

As part of the program, AGC engages with the local school administrations and businesses. “Providing that partnership between the two is really what AGC does,” continued Flagg.

The program reaches wide geographic areas across the state, from Caribou and Houlton in the eastern part of the state, on the New Brunswick, Canadian border, to a concentration of schools in the Portland metro area, as well as schools in-between — from Lincoln and Brewer to Dexter and Waterville.

By the numbers

In 2023, the inaugural year for the construction immersion program, the first classes were held and there was immediate interest. More than 100 people applied and 50 were accepted to participate in four cohort programs across the state. In two short years, the program has seen sizeable growth. In 2024, 283 people applied, and 155 were selected. The number of cohorts nearly quadrupled to 15.

The response from businesses across the state has been just as strong. Year one had 12 employers involved, and that number rose to 28 in 2024. “Contractor buy-in is very high. Their engagement and belief in the program is quite strong,” said Flagg.

Requirements for industry

To participate in the program, there are several requirements construction companies must meet. “The contractor has to be a member of AGC Maine, which means they’ve been vetted by our board, and they’ve been vetted by the membership application process with the organization,” Flagg said.

Contractors also have to offer Registered Apprenticeship programs, either through AGC, the state, a union or as an in-house program. Flagg emphasized, “We want to make sure that our students are not going through this pre-apprenticeship training without any further learning opportunities.”

Contractors must also agree to AGC Maine’s layout and structure for the on-site days, which involve safety requirements, preparation, and how to present and speak to the students.

Construction Academy

The Construction Academy spans four weeks, 20 days from start to finish, and includes 10 days of classroom instruction and 10 days of hands-on experience with local companies. AGC provides the curriculum, funding, program oversight and engagement with contractors. The schools then provide a location for the program to be taught, and an instructor to do the teaching.

AGC then brings the instructor into the training realm. “All the school has to do is provide a location, and select somebody that they trust, to be within their school facility during after-hours or during the summer,” Flagg said. “Then the rest of it is really up to AGC.”

Students are provided benefits that include a weekly stipend, tools and outerwear. They also receive safety glasses, hard hats and new boots.

Onboarding new instructors

As part of the onboarding process, instructors are certified through the National Center for Construction Education Research (NCCER), if they aren’t already. AGC conducts the NCCER instructor evaluation and makes sure that the instructor is prepared to lead the program.

The pre-apprenticeship classes utilize the NCCER Core curriculum, which focuses on foundational construction skills. This includes basic safety with OSHA 10, plus introductions to using construction math, reading construction drawings, and using hand and power tools. The AGC program uses several NCCER Core modules to lead students into hands-on building experiences wherein they practice their skills and complete performance-based requirements to earn NCCER’s industry-recognized credentials.

“Our goal is to provide the students with the basic knowledge that they can then take with them into whichever apprenticeship pathway they choose,” Flagg said. “By using the NCCER nationally recognized credential, all of our employers know if a student comes from our program, they’ve had that specific, consistent training.”

Recruiting student applicants

AGC reaches out to the local community schools to help inform and identify potential student applicants. They supply schools with a marketing toolkit that includes emails and flyers, posters and social media post templates. Then the school will advertise to their local community to seek out the participants for the program.

Students learn about a variety of apprenticeship crafts through the Construction Academy. Flagg ran through the list: “We have concrete laborers, building carpenters, bridge carpenters and heavy highway laborers. A crane mechanic apprenticeship is available, as is a heavy equipment mechanic. Earthworks laborer is a popular one — learning about soil excavation and equipment operations. There is also electrical and welding.”

Flagg said the program is important for young people, supplementing traditional education and career pathways with options. “Our pre-apprenticeship isn’t meant to prevent someone from choosing a college pathway. But how much more powerful is it if you have a year or two of work experience under your belt?” She continued, “With the extra experience, you can choose to become an engineer because you’ve seen bridges being built and you now know that’s what you want to do. Because of that experience.”

Benefits

Contracting businesses involved have similar takes on why the program is important. “I think a lot of people drive by sites like [an overpass under construction] and just say, ‘There’s another construction site’ and don’t understand the work that’s being done,” said Andy Kittredge, President of CPM Constructors, Inc. “But it gives these students an opportunity to ask questions and see all phases of the project.” The opportunity to work and view a project, and be on site, is a benefit of the program.

Graduation day

Flagg said that one of the things she enjoys most is meeting the participants’ families and hearing them talk about the change in their children over the course of the program.

“We hear a lot from families who say they see their students grew up in that short period. They go from being nervous and not sure that this is the right place for them, to seeing and experiencing new things. They’re more confident by the time they’re done with this program.”

“My goal is for students to see what opportunities are out there. I want them to have their eyes opened,” added Flagg.