ANACONDA — The students in Anaconda are building a tool shed as part of a special program to get them interested in the construction field, and they’re learning many important lessons, including:
“Don’t be an idiot with tools. That’s a big one,” student Keith Lovell said.
WATCH: Eight Anaconda High School students just built a tool shed from scratch — and it's going straight to their school district
The Accelerate Montana Program’s Job Site Ready class was offered to eight students from Anaconda High School to teach them the basics of construction. Organizers say it’s time to get young people involved in this field.
“The workforce we currently have is rapidly aging out, and it’s a catastrophe in the making for not only the nation, but also Montana,” Job Site Ready Instructor Alex Fregerio said.
Over the past months, these students have completed 30 hours of online training and spent the past two days building a shed using what they’ve learned.
“The project is really fun, I really enjoy working with my friends and stuff on it,” student Jaysun Appling said.
The program’s mobile unit can visit about a dozen schools across the state to give young people valuable construction experience.
“Employers are hesitant to hire folks with no experience, and so programs like this are a way that they can get enough experience to get their foot in the door,” Fregerio said.
The students in this program say it encourages them to pursue careers in construction.
“I’ve always been interested in like building stuff. I helped my dad build, like, our front porch. I helped out there. I kind of want to get into heavy equipment operating,” student Eileen Miller said.
The tool shed will be donated to the Anaconda School District.
