Close to 100 people, including ABC MA and Gould Construction Institute Board members, Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) staff, GCI teachers and students, and industry partners attended the ribbon cutting for Gould’s new training facility on November 16.
The event included a video message from Governor Maura Healey, who congratulated GCI and talked about the important role the new facility would play in training the workforce needed to meet demand in the Massachusetts construction industry.
It was fitting that the ribbon cutting coincided with GCI’s annual Craft Championships. In the past, the event had to be held at remote locations where Gould rented space; now it’s among the many activities we can host in our own facility. Dan Wilson of DECCO won the pipefitting competition, followed by Bradley Morse, also of DECCO, and David Rollend of Notch Mechanical Constructors. Christian Robson of Premier Power was the electrical winner, with Ronilson Rosario and Justin Giglio, both of Electrical Dynamics, placing second and third, respectively. Wilson and Robson will go on to compete in the national competition at ABC’s National Convention, to be held February 25-27 in Las Vegas.
“This new facility gives us the opportunity to provide our students with state-of-the-art, hands-on training with virtual simulators and help alleviate the long-term labor shortage confronting the construction industry,” said GCI President Julie DeStefano.
DAS Deputy Director Margie Gilligan spoke about her department’s initiatives and how they expanded National Apprenticeship Week by declaring November National Apprenticeship Month in Massachusetts. Members of her team are focusing on visiting and participating in as much apprenticeship activity as possible in November.
he facility will also allow GCI to offer workforce programs to attract much-needed talent to the trades through programming such as exploratory trade/apprenticeship programs, middle school summer camps and career fairs. It can also host the pre-apprenticeship programs conducted by ABC MA and GCI’s 501(c)3 partner Building Mass Careers.
Among those celebrating the ribbon cutting were staff from Windover Construction, the general contractor for the project of transforming the space into a GCI training facility.
“For 12 weeks, our small group met every Wednesday to review and go over the project timeline for the facility and we all became close and enjoyed working with each other,” DeStefano said. “They were an extension of our team for the buildout.”