Philadelphia Youth Learning Skilled Trades During Hands-On Workshop
Friday, December 15, 2023
TO INSPIRE AND UNITE COMMUNITY
Saturday, Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Wagner Middle School, 1701 W Chelten Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19126
With the Philadelphia School District eliminating nearly all skilled trades and construction-related curriculum from their middle schools, the Wagner Middle School will host an important introduction to the trades for 150 students on Saturday, Dec. 16, during a 3-hour workshop.
The program will be run by Philadelphia’s only middle school construction trades instructor Evin Jarrett, who created the technical skills program for middle school students in Mayfair. The supplies will be provided by South Jersey-based facilities management firm NEST.
The students will learn about electrical, plumbing, and other important skilled trades in high demand nationwide. The principal of Wagner Middle School contacted Jarrett about inspiring their students in the same way he has inspired kids in his school in Mayfair.
Jarrett and the leadership at NEST are on a mission to combat the labor crisis facing the skilled trades in the U.S. They want to elevate the skilled trades as high-paying, honorable, and often heroic career paths.
Associated Builders and Contractors reported that the construction industry will need to attract an estimated 546,000 additional workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2023 to meet the demand for labor.