Yesterday I had the opportunity to host 11 students and their teacher from the Gerald R Ford Job Corps center HBI program at the Miles Builders’ custom home. I invited them out for this field trip for them to learn about all of the skilled trades that are needed in order to be able to build a home like this.
The Gerald R Ford Job Corps works to teach eligible young people (ages 16-24) the skills they need to become employable and independent and place them in meaningful jobs or further education. Students have a variety of course plans that they are able to choose from and these students have chosen the HBI or Home Builders’ Institute program. The HBI program works to advance and provide education, career development, training and placement of men and women serving the building industry. They do this through in class training, field trips and even work shadow programs.
I was introduced to this program approximately 1 year ago and in that time, TruMedia, 
my company has been able to host over a dozen students out on a three week job shadow to introduce them to the custom integration channel. When students shadow with us they are able to work on both new construction and retro fit residential and commercial job sites. We teach the students the basics about pre-wiring, trim finish out and even equipment installation and programming.
During this most recent field trip we were able to show the students what a finished custom home looked like and were able to answer questions that the students had about things that we do like designing for a clients’ current and future technology needs. We were able to speak to them about the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the importance of planning for and setting up a solid network infrastructure for these systems in the house to work with.
We were joined on this field trip by Rachel, a Landscape Designer from R&A Landscaping and Courtney, the Interior Designer from Miles Builders. They were able to speak to the students about additional skilled trades that are needed to be able to accomplish a gorgeous looking house like this. The reoccurring theme that was expressed by all of us was the importance of communication between the trades and the need for individuals to have a strong desire to work hard and to take pride in their work.
Meeting these students and working with them during the job shadow program has made me incredibly optimistic about the future generation and their desire to learn and work hard in a skilled trade. I really enjoy opening these students’ eyes to the possibilities that they have for the future.
To learn more about the Job Corps program feel 
free to visit their website at www.geraldrford.jobcorps.gov . To learn more about the HBI program, visit www.hbi.org. To learn more about my experience working with these students or to schedule a time for me to visit or speak to your students, feel free to send me a message.
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