Building and construction class launches careers

Many students who learn trades are able to land well-paying jobs without having college debt.

By VICKIE BABYAK
McKeesport Community Newsroom

McKeesport Area School District offers career and technical education programs for students, providing high schoolers with opportunities to learn hands-on skills in various trades and acquire pathways to industry certifications.

A number of Gen Zers —those born between 1997 and 2012 — are bypassing college and entering blue-collar jobs like plumbing, electrical contracting, construction and automotive repair. Gen Z accounted for 18% of the workforce in the first quarter of 2024, according to the Department of Labor, but 18- to 25-year-olds made up about 25% of all new hires in trade industries, according to Gusto.com.

Building and construction teacher Brian DeCecco says he wouldn’t be teaching without going to college, but he believes students can become extremely successful with or without a college degree. Students who work hard can join a labor union, earning up $80,000 a year without college debt.

“However, my job is to provide students with every opportunity to be successful,” DeCecco said.

In building and construction, students learn masonry, plumbing, electrical work, painting, basic carpentry, drywall, drywall finishing, tool safety and homeowner skills.

Seniors learn about resumé building, investing, and entrepreneurship, and when they graduate, they also become OSHA 10 certified. Certification provides entry- level construction workers with general knowledge of workplace safety and hazards.

“Most of the students want to be here and I try to stress that in class,” DeCecco said.

Students should enjoy building and construction if they want it to be a career. At the very least, if a student doesn’t make a career from the course, they learn homeowner skills that they can take with them forever.

Students from multiple districts commute to trade schools that have waiting lists, but having trade programs in McKeesport gives students access to these classes.

“My suggestion to students is to be ready to work, be ready to try new things, be ready for teamwork, and be attentive because the sky’s the limit,” DeCecco said.

This year, students worked on various projects around the school, such as pouring concrete for the football and track teams, building a salt shed for maintenance and improving the courtyard for child care classes. The biggest project is a manufactured home that students demolish and then rebuild.

“I depend heavily on senior leadership for assistance,” DeCecco said. “There is one of me and 35 students when everyone is present. Safety is very important in my class. We use tools that can hurt someone when not used properly.”

Senior Keith Austin is a team leader for the building and construction class.

“Being a team leader, it actually feels good when working with the right people, but sometimes you get a group of people who kind of slack off,” Austin said.

He explained that whenever students cut wood, they put on safety glasses and use gloves to avoid getting splinters. It’s recommended for students to wear steel-toed boots in case something heavy falls on their feet, so toes don’t get crushed.

“Nothing in life is guaranteed and whatever path you choose, you will get out of it what you put into it,” DeCecco said.

He has numerous students moving on. Some are starting apprenticeships at local trade unions, some are attending Rosedale Tech and others are employed at JRM Contracting Group.

“I have a particular success story that I’m proud of,” De-Cecco said. “Garrett Tarker was a senior who came to me without any knowledge of trade work. In fact, he wanted nothing to do with plumbing, but he and I ended up installing a hose bib together in the shop. He turned to me and said he might want to do this for a career.”

Tarker is currently enrolled in his second year at the Mon Valley Plumbing Apprenticeship School and employed by Level Green Plumbing.

“I’ll be honest, I wanted my son to go to college, but he came to me and said he wanted to attend trade school to be a plumber,” said his mother, Renee Tarker.

It’s hard work, but he is happy, she said Garrett Tarker said by email that he thinks it’s important to have building and construction classes in the McKeesport school district and to introduce students to different trades. Every student is different, and some want to create a different path in their life besides going to college.

“Mr. DeCecco’s class prepared me for my career by giving me hands-on plumbing experience and it helped get me to where I am today,” Tarker wrote.

Vickie Babyak is a writer, photographer and recently retired paraprofessional from McKeesport Area High School. She resides in Dravosburg. Babyak is a member of Tube City Writers, a program of the McKeesport Community Newsroom.