Leon Williams Contractors Blog: Go Build Tennessee

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The team at Leon Williams Contractors, LLC,offers complete general contractor services, including a full range of construction services, pre-construction consultation and site assessment, construction management, value engineering, and construction management. As a Tennessee based contractor and construction firm, we are well aware that our state depends on the skilled tradesmen that call our area home and we are extremely excited about the new opportunity related to a state initiative, Go Build Tennessee.

This new program is designed to encourage young people to become interested in the construction and contracting industry to help drive growth in the state of Tennessee for skilled tradesmen. According to the GoBuildTennesseewebsite, the following statistics offer detailed information about the current state of Tennessee’s trade industries:

Tennessee’s Construction Industry is getting older and the talent pool is growing smaller:

Thousands of men and women leave the trades every year, and there aren’t enough young workers to replace them. For Tennessee to continue to prosper, we have to start from the ground up.

  • The average age of a construction tradesman today is 50 years old.
  • For every five people who leave the trades, only one replacement is supplied by apprenticeship programs.

New Workers are needed in Tennessee to maintain the growth of the construction industry:

  • 6 million Americans are employed by a construction trade annually.
  • The construction industry is projected to grow by 22% through 2022.

Students interested in the trades don’t need a four year degree to make a great living:

Thousands of new jobs open up every year, and with training programs throughout the state, you can start earning a competitive salary with increasing benefits right away without worrying about student loans.

  • It will take 39% of college graduates 10+ years to pay off their student loans.
  • 87% of apprentices find jobs when they’re finished.
  • Qualified skilled tradesmen make an average of $50,000 annually.
  • Commercial construction tradesmen are paid on average 33% more per week than the rest of Americans.

Two and Four year degrees do offer opportunities:

While you don’t need a degree to get started in the trades, having a two year or four year degree does offer some advantages.

  • For those students who may want to further their careers and may be interested in architecture, the requirementsinclude a four year degree and to pass the Architect Registration Examination.
  • Individuals who have an associates or bachelor’s degree can make more moneyin the long run.
  • Workers with college degrees generally have lower unemployment ratesand earn more money than those with a high school diploma.

Leon Williams Contractors has worked with East Tennessee clients on a wide range of retail and commercial construction projects, including banks, medical facilities, commercial offices, residential projects, restaurants,and retail locations. Our team is committed to the growth of the trades in Tennessee and are looking for students who are interested in learning more about the opportunities that the Go Build Tennessee projectwill mean for our state.

To learn more about Leon Williams Contractors, the projects that we work on in Tennessee and the services that we provide, please contact us todayto learn how we can assist you with your next project.