OSHKOSH, Wis. — Spending time around big projects and big equipment is something appealing to Bennett Olson.
He’s a student in Fox Valley Technical College’s Construction Management Program. His interest in the field started with working on projects with family close to home in Brillion.
That interest has grown.
“I really like the structural stuff. It’s big materials getting moved around with cranes. It’s pretty exciting,” Olson said while watching a crane move a modular building into position. “It’s fun to see stuff get put together.”
He said there’s a draw to bringing a project to completion.
“Knowing the whole back story and how it goes from a piece of paper to actually being put up,” Olson said. “That whole process really interested me.”
Olson is in his first year at the college.
Employers across the state are working to fill open positions in areas like carpentry, ironwork, electricians and construction management.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said annual openings for construction managers are expected to be around 39,000 across the country. It’s a field that’s growing quicker than other construction specialties.
It’s a need Ben Bruns sees as vice president of The Boldt Company in Appleton.
“Across the industry, especially in the project management ranks, we need talent,” he said.
Boldt recently worked with FVTC students to bring a modular building from the drawing board to a finished job trailer.
“The students actually helped build this facility in our Oshkosh modular plant and now they got a chance to see us set it out here,” Bruns said. “It’s amazing when you can deliver a building by truck.”
Rich Cass is the department chair of Construction Management Technology and FVTC.
“Our program has seen very high numbers, usually hovering around 100% placement for students who are seeking employment,” he said. “We’re just continuing to see the numbers stay steady or rise.”
Workers retiring from the profession are one of the driving factors of the need.
Olson said he plans to help fill some of those open positions when he finishes the FVTC program.
“I’ll probably be a laborer and do some hands on stuff for the year and really get down and dirty and learn all the ins and outs of the trades before I eventually move into a project manager role, hopefully when I’m a little older and have all that experience,” he said. “Then I can lead my own crews when I’ve learned enough.”
