MONROE

A new round of classes at Monroe High School could reduce the dropout rate and equip students with secure jobs post-graduation. The classes could be open to other schools.

The Union County Board of Education agreed in January to construct a 4,600 square foot building to expand the Architectural, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Academy. Classes will include drafting and engineering, welding, HVAC, plumbing and electrical. The school already offers masonry and carpentry, which will be part of the academy.

“There’s always going to be a job market for construction work,” masonry and carpentry teacher John Threatt said. While new home construction slows, old homes need repairs, Threatt said, and there’s always a need for commercial construction work.

School officials chose to house the academy at Monroe due to students’ interest level and its central location to other schools, said Mary Ellis, deputy superintendent of instructional programs.

Of 257 eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders surveyed at Monroe Middle and High, 138 — about 54 percent — said they are interested in the academy, career development coordinator David Presson said.

Not every student attends a two- or four-year college or goes into the military, Ellis said, but every student should finish high school to get a good job.

Union County Public Schools has an 81.7 percent graduation rate, but that’s still nearly two of every 10 students not graduating, she said.

“A lot of kids who are not college bound ... are really good with their hands,” Ellis said, and can contribute to much-needed construction fields.

“Anytime you can offer programs that children have interest in, that they can connect with, it helps them build a relationship with the school and stay in school,” said Mike Webb, associate superintendent of building operations.

Senior Jeffery Johnson takes carpentry and masonry classes — a “gateway” into the construction industry, he said. Johnson plans to attend a two-year college to study either marketing or construction, and might take classes offered by the expanded ACE Academy.

Men make up most of the workforce in those fields, Threatt said, but some women take his classes, too. Women often take up bookkeeping or office work in those areas, he said, and should experience behind-the-scenes work firsthand to do the job well.

Principal Doreen Dotalo called the academy “another option in a constantly changing world of employment.”

With the skills he learns in class, Johnson said he isn’t too worried about finding a job after college.

Through the ACE Academy, students can earn college credit or credentials from the National Center for Construction Education and Research, career and technical education director Lorraine Collins said. Classes will also teach students how to supervise large projects.

“It will provide students with opportunities that they may not realize exist,” Collins said.

These programs are expensive, she said, but the demand is high.

Central Academy of Technology and Arts has aerospace and drafting programs. Forest Hills High also has drafting and will soon have advanced manufacturing classes. Parkwood offers HVAC classes.

Funding for the ACE Academy is out to bid, Webb said, but hopes to keep the cost under $500,000 in bond savings, including the building and equipment.

School officials hope to offer evening classes to students who don’t attend Monroe.

The academy is scheduled to open this fall.

WHERE’S THE NEED?

North Carolina’s unemployment rate was 11.2 percent in December, the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics reports, No. 44 of 50 states and Washington, D.C. That’s nearly 506,000 people out of work.

Yet many jobs in the construction industry remain secure, said Ed Prevatt of the National Center for Construction Education and Research.

For years, the industry boomed, and managers hired “anyone who could fog a mirror” for need of manpower, Prevatt, the senior manager for workforce development, said. Many of those hired didn’t have the necessary construction skills, he said, and companies spent time and money training them.

With the economic downturn, companies pared down their staff, keeping the most efficient employees, Prevatt said.

“The craftworkers that have skills ... keep their jobs when everybody else goes away,” he said.

Not all companies are holding up, he said, but others still need skilled workers — from electricians to welders — especially in the commercial construction industry. “That’s where the money is. That’s where the security is,” he said.

— Staff Writer Tiffany Lane