To mark Career Technical Education (CTE) Awareness Month in February, Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin (DCAWI), along with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139, is hosting a Heavy Equipment student workshop. CTE students will receive hands-on and simulator training with bulldozers, front-end loaders, excavators and additional construction equipment to supplement their online course work. CTE instructors and students are available for media interviews.

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According to Tim Lawrence, SkillsUSA’s Executive Director, “When we speak with our partners within the commercial construction industry, they consistently indicate there is a major skills gap. They are extremely worried about upcoming generations of commercial contractors, engineers, and construction workers.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation in a recent study found more than half of U.S. employers report struggling with talent acquisition, which is particularly acute within industries experiencing high growth, such as the construction sector.

Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin is the first-of-its-kind school in Wisconsin created specifically for the types of college and technical career-minded students that can help bridge the state’s skills gap. DCAWI’s Operating Engineer Pre-apprenticeship Program prepares students to become journeyman and women in the construction sector. Powered by K12, the statewide online charter school is tuition-free, full-time, and serves Wisconsin students in grades 9–12.

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