Hawaii Construction and Career Guide
Trade Secrets
Hawaii Construction Academy
LEARN HOW TO USE A NAIL GUN and read a blueprint before you even graduate from high school. At the Construction Academy, high school students are getting hands-on experience and a great start in the industry.
Founded in 2004, the academy offers high school level classes as part of the Industrial & Engineering career pathway‘one of the six College and Technical Education (CTE) pathways formed by the state*s Department of Education (DOE). Students can enter the academy as early as their freshman year or as late as their senior year.
This year, 16 high schools on O'ahu have partnered with Honolulu Community College and about 950 students are enrolled. Working with a DOE teacher and a HCC instructor, they learn basic safety, how to operate tools, how to measure (twice!) and the right way to hammer a nail. They also explore different careers within the construction industry.
At the end of the course, students build real-world projects such as children*s playhouses and storage sheds. This hands-on approach requires students to apply skills in math, communication, construction technology, problem solving and, most importantly, teamwork. Students earn elective credits for the classes and have the chance to earn college credit, too. It's so hands-on, says academy counselor Erica Balbag-Gerard.
The students get a real kick out of operating the tools, but they*re also looking at a piece of wood being transformed into something that has everyday use.
The academy also offers a drafting technology class that teaches blueprint reading and design software. An electricity and electronics class is also in the pipeline.
Academy students benefit from the built-in counseling services that Balbag-Gerard provides. She covers the admissions process for schools and apprenticeship programs. Students are shown how to write cover letters, resumes and how to put their best foot forward at interviews. Speakers from the different unions are also invited to talk to students about their jobs and take them on field trips to see the industry in action.
These classes give students a real sense of what the job is like,“ Balbag-Gerard says. ’It also opens them up to other careers in the industry that they might not think of at first.