Construction Ready, a nonprofit working to educate workers on career opportunities in the construction industry, will hold two information sessions about its Pre-Apprenticeship training program on April 16 and April 17 at Savannah Technical College. The fully funded program is available to residents of the Savannah region. The class will begin May 5, 2025.

Program Background: During the class, instructors work with students daily from 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. providing training and credentialing for careers in construction and the skilled trades. The class ends with a Hiring Fair and Graduation where students are matched with employers. 

Info Session Dates: April 16, April 17

Times: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Location: Room 7126 at Savannah Technical College, 5717 White Bluff Rd, Savannah, GA 31405

Contact: Veda White, Construction Ready, [email protected] 

Construction Ready’s Pre-Apprenticeship program has trained more than 1,800 workers of all ages for successful careers in construction and the skilled trades. Successes of the program include: 

• 97% job placement by end of training

• Average starting salary of $13-17 hour

• 70% of participants are employed in the construction industry one year later

Georgia Numbers

• 90 percent have open hourly craft positions and 88 percent have open salaried positions

• Why are companies having trouble filling positions?

• Available candidates not qualified to work in the industry

• New hires fail to show up or quit shortly after starting

• Potential employees lack required credentials

• Potential employees cannot pass a drug test

• Biggest salaried positions companies are having trouble filling

• Architects

• BIM personnel

• Project managers

• Superintendents

• Quality control personnel

• Biggest hourly positions companies are having trouble filling

• Concrete workers

• Electricians

• Equipment operators

• Mechanics

• Pipefitters/welders, Plumbers, Sheet metal workers

• 42 percent say AI won’t affect construction jobs, and 29 percent say AI will positively impact construction jobs by automating manual, error-prone tasks

• Firms are having projects canceled, postponed or scaled back due to:

• Increasing costs

• Financing unavailable or too expensive

• Firms are experiencing project delays due to

• Shortages of workers (66%)

• Longer lead times/shortages: Electrical equipment (53%)

• Government delays (38%)

• 67 percent of firms are spending more on training and professional development

• 55 percent have partnered with a third party for training courses and 45 percent have implemented or strengthened performance review/management