Building trades program at Erie Center for Arts & Technology gets $1 million boost

A surge of construction activity in Erie over the last several years has underlined a problem: Erie isn't training enough people with the skills needed to do that work.

The construction trades training program at the Erie Center for Arts & Technology has been working to address that shortage through a training program that last year had 76 applications for 20 openings.

That effort has received a $1 million boost that will enable ECAT to train more students and to provide on-the job-training.

The site for some of that training was the backdrop Thursday for a news conference hosted by Infinite Erie, a group working to implement Erie's investment playbook by positioning the community to attract more public and private sector funding than like-size regions.

Members of Erie community chip in more than $1 million

Kim Thomas, executive director of Infinite Erie, said Thursday that an additional $1.028 million has been allocated for the program from Erie Insurance, the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority and the Erie Community Foundation.

The expanded funding will allow more students to be trained in the ECAT program. Beginning Sept. 24, a new class of 35 building trades students will begin training. Students will meet three evenings a week for a total of 20 hours a week, said Kate Neubert-Lechner, the group's executive director. She said ECAT had 175 applications for those positions.

With the support of Erie's Build Community Development Corp., the extra money will also allow those students to receive on-the-job training, often in the communities where they live.

Daria Devlin, director of social impact for Hamot Health Foundation and executive director of Build CDC, said the program will pay wages to students as they learn new skills.

“Recent studies have shown that we are facing a nation-wide shortage of construction workers to meet the industry demand, and that shortage has become a barrier to utilizing resources and scaling up neighborhood revitalization work here in the Erie community,” Devlin said in a statement.

"This investment allows us to expand ECAT's existing, successful program and build a pipeline of skilled construction workers while simultaneously providing individuals with the opportunity to earn family sustaining wages.”

From Walmart to future nurse: ECAT helps Erie woman begin health-care career

House will serve as training facility

Some of those wages will be earned working inside of 211 Parade St., an 1,100-square-foot home built in 1903, according to Erie County property records.

The property, owned by Bayfront Eastside Task Force, looks good from the street and has some people inquiring about rental opportunities, said Jeremy Bloeser, executive director of the organization. A new roof and windows on the front of the house already have been installed.

Open the front door, however, and it's apparent that there's a lot of work to be done, Bloeser said.

"It's not ready to be lived in. It's an empty canvas," he said.

Devlin said the house is one of the locations where supervised students enrolled in the ECAT program can begin to improve their skills.

Donald Crenshaw, a Black contractor who attended Thursday's announcement, said the training effort is an important step toward ensuring that the tradesmen working in the community reflect the population that lives there.

Devlin is inclined to agree

"We need to do better to diversify our workplace," she said.

What $30 million can do: Community-driven projects move the needle on social issues

Neubert-Lechner said that her organization is working to set students up for success even before they attend a class or start hammering nails on the job.

Many need to find ways to overcome challenges that can include childcare and a long list of other things that can stand in the path of success.

"Many students have so many barriers they don't have a way to get started," she said.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie groups chip in to fund job training for building trades students