RIBOA’s Tools of the Trade program helps students build on a career in codes

Construction is an industry in which workers will never become obsolete. While the global construction industry is facing an unprecedented labor shortage, it is vigorously working to attract new recruits to meet growing demand. Industry leaders are encouraging students or new graduates to enter the construction industry, which can be a great opportunity for growth.

Thirteen years ago, Wayne Pimental, building official with the town of Narragansett in Rhode Island and an immediate past president of the Rhode Island Building Officials Association (RIBOA), heard about an innovative program from Sara Yerkes with the International Code Council. The impetus of the program was to help plug a gap in the number of building officials nationwide by offering to bring the Code Council’s codes and instructors into high school curriculums. The Code Council would provide code books (now CDs) and help train educators in how to use them in the classroom and out in the field on various real-world projects. Upon completion of the course, the students would receive a certificate showing their proficiency in the codes they used, giving them a boost in a career in construction or other code-related fields.

ICC Technical Training Program in Rhode Island vocational schools

After attending a presentation on what would become the Code Council’s highly successful High School Technical Training Program (HSTTP) — now referred to as the ICC Technical Training Program — Pimental convinced Bill Nash, a senior regional manager of government relations with the Code Council, who was the president of the RIBOA chapter at the time, that they needed to bring the program to Rhode Island vocational schools. Nash, who was also the building official in Warren at the time, thought it was a great idea.

“We have a shortage of code officials here like everywhere else in the country. We could give those students exposure to the ICC building codes,” explained Nash. “And that’s an important thing to do for students in a vocational school. We could introduce the students and teachers to professionals in the field to show the important work of inspectors and building officials who work hard to ensure life safety by following the codes. It’s a way to give back to the community.”

Nash and Pimental worked to introduce the program to students in Rhode Island vocational schools and took the program to the next level after a few years. However, being one of the first jurisdictions in the nation to adopt and promote the ICC Technical Training Program in the state’s nine schools wasn’t quite enough for them. They expanded the idea to give students even more incentive to enter the program and successfully complete it.

Local power equipment and tools companies join in to help

“I thought it would be great if we could give the graduating seniors a box full of tools for completing the program,” said Pimental. He reached out to the late Sam Netcoh, owner of Netcoh Tool Sales, a local provider of construction equipment, who was not only glad to participate but connected Pimental with the owner of DeWalt Tools. The RIBOA chapter’s Tools of the Trade program was born, now assisted by other large power equipment and tools companies, including Makita USA Inc. For the last 10 years, RIBOA and its partner companies have provided $90,000 worth of tools to graduates of the ICC Technical Training Program as it has morphed into junior colleges and vocational training colleges.

Pimental shared that this year’s Tools of the Trade program gave each of the 33 graduates from the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center, the Woonsocket Area Career and Technical Center, and the Ponaganset Career and Technical Education Program about $450 worth of tools, including power tools and hand tools to help them get started in the field. To pay for the program, RIBOA holds a fundraiser/trade show each year where vendors get to exhibit and demonstrate their products and students get to talk and network with prospective employers.

“It really is a win-win-win,” Pimental said of the Tools of the Trade program. “They get hands-on experience with the codes, free tools and connections.”

Students in the ICC Technical Training Program work on a variety of projects in the community, Pimental explained; from reconditioning and restoration work for charity organizations to the construction of whole residential houses.

“The Technical Training Program and Tools of the Trade give the students a leg up when they’re looking for a job,” Nash said. “If we can get the codes in these kids’ hands and show them how to use them, we’ve done our job.”

And Pimental knows students go on to work in the field. His son is a graduate from 10 years ago and already has hired three graduates. “We hope to keep bringing in students and graduates in the Technical Training Program program so we can fill the open jobs,” Pimental said. “There are a lot. The need is great. But we can help. This is a great program.”