by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
It might be a hammer or it might be a front-end loader, but if someone wants to get a job in the construction industry they have to know how to operate the equipment. With some trades, you’ll even have to earn a state or national certification before you can report to a job site and collect a paycheck.
Workforce Florida, Inc. has created a system to provide up-to-date skills evaluation and training for workers in industries that are essential to sustaining and growing Florida’s economy. With a budget of more than $6 million, “Employ Florida Banner Centers” have been established throughout the state to serve a variety of industries including aviation, biotechnology, financial services, health sciences, logistics and distribution, manufacturing and energy.
The program’s Mobile Training Center devoted to the construction industry made a stop in Jacksonville last week to demonstrate its capabilities at the 41st Annual Conference of the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education. Hundreds of professionals and administrators from all over the state were at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront to study topics ranging from biofuels and health issues affecting workers at disaster sites to teaching students the basic concepts of personal finance.
“It’s a rolling computer lab and training center,” said Kurt Morauer, coordinator for the Banner Construction Institute. His headquarters is at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, but Morauer travels all over Florida pulling a trailer that houses the Mobile Training Center.
The MTC is entirely self-contained with on-board generators that allow it to operate even at sites so remote there is no external power available. It offers a six-station computer lab with satellite Internet access and an awning that covers a 240 square-foot area that serves as a gathering place for classes and video demonstrations on a 46-inch flat-screen LCD monitor. There is also a completely-stocked tool and equipment storage area.
“With the satellite dish we can download the latest software we need for training or testing workers and we can upload test results to any location or organization world-wide,” said Morauer, who added BCI is currently working with the Florida Crane Operators Association to develop a mobile certification program.
The heavy equipment training software is set up like a video game. While an operator goes through the test using joysticks that match what’s found on the equipment at a job site and a wide-screen computer monitor inside the trailer, the rest of the class can sit under the awning and watch the results on the big screen.
“The idea is to create local partnerships that unite the workforce with education and also employment opportunities in the construction industry. We’re streamlining the process to make it easier for workers to find a job and for contractors to find the qualified personnel they need,” said Morauer.
The customized trailer and the concept behind it were both a hit with the conference attendees.
“Technical education has changed a lot over the years and many jobs that don’t require a four-year degree can actually pay more than those that do require a bachelor’s degree. Programs like the Banner Construction Institute are what vocational-technical education is like for the 21st century,” said FACTE Executive Director Marsan Carr.