SALT LAKE CITY — With Utah growing fast and housing in short supply, teachers say there’s a need for more people in construction, and local students are stepping up.
At Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers, teens aren’t just learning about construction—they’re actually building things. “Why is it so important in Utah? Utah is growing and Utah is growing fast. We have a housing deficit, housing shortage, we need more labor to build more houses,” said Ryan Clayton, a construction trades and management teacher at the academy.
His students built a tiny home right behind the school. “There’s a huge deficit in construction jobs and we’re trying to fill that deficit,” Clayton said.
And it’s working. “My enrollment has doubled so I went from about 40 students to over 80 students this year in my 4 classes,” he said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction is the second-fastest-growing industry nationwide. The country needs more than 300,000 additional workers every year to keep up.
That demand is also being felt at Salt Lake Community College, where students in the construction and apprenticeship programs are filling classrooms—even in the summer. “This is the first time that we’ve offered our full program during the summer, and all of our classes were full,” said David James, associate dean of apprenticeships in welding and construction technologies at SLCC.
Students at SLCC are learning all kinds of real-world skills: framing, plumbing, concrete work, and even some more artistic builds. “We have a fine arts wood working class called birth of the flute where we build Native American-style flutes, we have a guitar class where they build an incredible guitar from scratch,” James said.
James says that all their programs since the COVID-19 pandemic started have continued to increase at about 10 percent each year.
High school students can visit jordantech.org to learn more about programs at Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers. Adults and college students can check out construction and apprenticeship opportunities at slcc.edu/apprenticeship.
