Minuteman Students Participate In Youth Remodeling Career Day

By Judy Bass

LANCASTER / LEXINGTON - At Minuteman High School, students receive a first-rate education that prepares them to enter the career of their choice as job-ready, rigorously-trained young professionals. One key goal of their education is to familiarize them with possible career paths that intrigue them and will utilize their skills.

With that aim in mind, a group of about 40 students in the Electrical, Plumbing, Carpentry and Metal Fabrication programs at Minuteman recently participated in Youth Remodeling Career Day at the Bolton Fairgrounds in Lancaster, Mass., an event which allowed them to learn about careers in the remodeling industry and have mock interviews with experts.

The hands-on, practical nature of this endeavor made it especially valuable for the students, as did the chance for them to speak one-to-one with representatives from prominent companies specializing in all aspects of remodeling. Seventeen other schools took part as well.

“Youth Remodeling Career Day is designed as a one-day event for high school students studying for a career in construction to learn about the breadth of career options in the remodeling industry,” said Michelle Glassburn, Executive Director of the Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (EM-NARI). “Students get to work directly with professionals in the industry to experience a variety of hands-on activities.”

The rationale behind having Youth Remodeling Career Day is clear. As stated in a flyer from EM-NARI, during the severe recession of the mid-2000s, not enough was done to cultivate up-and-coming remodeling industry workers who were either entering the profession or rising through the ranks. As a result, a shortage of qualified personnel existed to fill jobs being vacated by retiring workers. Now, via opportunities like Youth Remodeling Career Day, students studying, for example, construction in high school can not only be introduced to careers that use their skills, but can get truly energized about their future in the trade.

“Connecting students with professionals in the field is a great way for them to envision their future, and exposing students to the newest technology in the field is always fun,” said Minuteman Director of Career and Technical Education Michelle Roche. “NARI is a great organization and Minuteman is proud to partner with them and expose our students to every opportunity for success.”

There are remodeling job opportunities galore to investigate, said Ms. Glassburn. “From the traditional general contractor doing remodeling work where an employee could be a carpenter, project manager or part of the management team to careers as a sub-contractor (i.e. plumber, electrician, etc.). Other professionals work for suppliers and manufacturers of the building products. Some individuals may pursue a career in architecture or design as well. And there are a variety of other professions that serve the industry from accounting, to marketing, to insurance and much more.”

There were three aspects of Youth Remodeling Career Day - interactive remodeling demonstrations, more than three dozen informational expo booths, and mock interviews. The relevant topics students could explore included using a coping saw, floor refinishing, roofing installation, cabinet installation techniques, and improving energy efficiency, just to name a few.

The day was a big success, thanks in large part to its multi-faceted, interactive nature, according to Diana Nadeau Bouquillon, who is a member of the EM-NARI Workforce Development Committee. “I facilitated the interview process during the event. In this capacity, I had the opportunity to talk with more than 86 students who took the opportunity to be interviewed by a professional in the field. The overall feedback when asked what their favorite part of the event was went directly back to one of the many areas where they could participate in doing a task. For example, building stairs, driving nails with a hammer, learning how to do coping, etc.”

Festool, an international manufacturer of power tools, has a massive roadshow truck that is touring America as part of its ongoing efforts to, as their news release put it, “address the skills gap,” encourage networking and galvanize a new generation of workers to join the construction trade. The Festool Roadshow stopped at Minuteman for two days immediately following Youth Remodeling Career Day.

“We focused on training instructors from all over the state to show them the newest technology in power tools,” said Festool spokesman Philip Strnad. “We want to help them show their students how to become faster, achieve higher quality and work dust-free in their daily work process. A presentation or a theoretical demonstration would never have the emotional impact that we achieve by showing our tools.”

Echoing what Ms. Glassburn said about the burgeoning remodeling field, Mr. Strnad explained, “The career opportunities are endless. There are so many trades, from carpentry to woodworking, painting, drywall or HVAC/Plumbing/Electrical. On top of that, there are great opportunities to ‘climb the ladder’ and be a lead carpenter, project manager, or owner. Or even work for companies like Festool in sales, marketing, product management or engineering.”

Looking to the future, he added, “Today’s students are tomorrow’s professionals in the trades. They will have a high impact on the quality standards and work that is done. Having great education paired with the newest technology will help fulfill the increasing demand for high-end craftsmanship.”

Summarizing the Youth Remodeling Career Day’s impact, Director of Career and Technical Education Michelle Roche of Minuteman said, “It was a busy day with plenty of hands-on activities and workshops for the students. I was told the students really enjoyed the day, as well as the teachers. It was well organized and was student centered.”

The new, $144.9 million Minuteman High School, which opened in September 2019, has been designed to support a robust college and career academy model. The academy model was adopted by staff and administration to create smaller “schools within a school” thereby promoting more personalized learning founded upon close relationships between students and teachers. The Minuteman college and career academy model integrates rigorous academics with relevant technical programming in occupational areas providing individual economic opportunity.

The new facility will accommodate project-based learning across disciplines, requiring students to learn how to work on a diverse team, solve problems and think critically. These are essential 21st-century skills that students practice and apply in a variety of school- and work-based environments.

As an accredited member of the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC), Minuteman inspires all students to attain their full potential, accelerate their learning, and become purposeful citizens in the global community.

Prospective students will have an upcoming opportunity to acquaint themselves with Minuteman High School, its exceptional new facility, and the outstanding career and academic education available there.

Showcase Day for in-district eighth graders is on Thursday, November 21.

Students are encouraged to apply for admission now by visiting www.minuteman.org and going to the Admissions tab on the home page.

Please visit Minuteman on Twitter - https://twitter.com/MinutemanHS, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MinutemanHighSchool/ , LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/school/minuteman-high-school/ , Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/minutemanhighschool/ and YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOMHryqqK-B-geuU9JdFr9g

Links to all of the school’s social media can be found at www.minuteman.org on the home page.

The Minuteman video can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/362382267