This content was published: February 20, 2014. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC Swan Island construction site used as a career development tool
Photos and story by Amy Mintonye
JE Dunn Superintendent Casey Hunter shares advice with the Oregon Tradeswomen tour group on February 13th, 2014
February 20,2014
Written by Amy Mintonye
The emerging PCC Swan Island Center construction site at 6400 N. Cutter Circle is becoming THE place to visit if you are interested in exploring careers, trades and apprenticeships in the construction industry.
On February 13th, Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc brought a group of aspiring craftswomen to tour PCC’s Swan Island construction site and gain valuable advice on building a successful career in the trades from the seasoned PCC Bond Program construction team from JE Dunn Construction. Oregon Tradeswomen is a non-profit organization that works to increase diversity on construction sites through education, leadership and mentorship. The construction students and Oregon Tradeswomen Career Counselor Kim Neel were lead through the construction site by PCC Bond Program Project Manager Bob Schroeder, JE Dunn Senior Project Manager Alan Halleck, Project Manger Eric Manus, and Superintendent Casey Hunter.
Oregon Tradeswomen group excited for their career futures after their Swan Island construction site tour.
The JE Dunn team shared their advice on how to achieve success in the construction field. In particular, they stressed the importance of learning as much as you can from your peers and volunteering to help on different crews to gain a rounded skill set.
“Don’t let yourself get pigeon holed into carrying the clipboard,” advised Halleck. “Women need to assert their abilities and career goals on the construction site.”
On March 11th Constructing Hope, an organization dedicated to developing entry-level skills and knowledge of apprenticeships and career opportunities, will visit the Swan Island site to learn about the roles of different trades and how they work together on a construction site.
Past career development events at the Swan Island Construction site include a brown bag lunch networking event for local organizations seeking to employ minorities in the trades and a site visit from the PCC Pre-Apprenticeship Program.
The new Swan Island center will house the Trades Education Center, featuring 23,000 square feet of classrooms and lab space for Facilities Maintenance Technology, HVAC-R Electrical Trades Apprenticeship, and Fiber Optics programs. In addition, the center will provide other project management skills training opportunities for area businesses.
Learn more about the Bond Program improvements planned for Swan Island.
On-site learning is nothing new for PCC! Check out the video below to hear what apprentices at PCC’s Cascade Campus have to say about their experience on the construction site: