Blackstone Valley Vocational To Bring Back 'ACE' Workshop

UPTON, MA — A Wellesley-based contractors trade group will bring its "ACE" program back to Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School this spring. The eight-week course focuses on the architecture, construction and engineering fields.

Here's more from an AGC of MA news release:

The Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts (AGC MA) is once again providing an eight-week ACE (architecture/construction/engineering) program at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton, MA.

The program, an AGC MA workforce development initiative, is designed to enhance skills and support opportunity for students interested in pursuing careers in construction. As part of the program’s curriculum, leaders from three AGC MA member firms (Jeff Cammuso of Shawmut Design and Construction, Kimberly Joyce of Colantonio, and Kerri Noble and Alex Toth of Consigli) are leading sessions as ACE mentors and sharing their experiences and expertise with students.

“This invaluable partnership provides our students with exposure to a host of professional career paths and allows them to explore facets of the construction sector that they might otherwise have never considered” says Thomas Belland, Vocational Director at Blackstone Valley Tech. “We are thrilled to welcome AGC MA and its member organizations back to our school for their fourth year of providing ACE support.”

AGC MA’s partnership with Blackstone Valley Tech is part of a larger initiative to increase awareness by young people of career opportunities in construction, a vital industry facing challenging workforce shortages.

“Today’s construction industry offers a wide range of well-paying professional opportunities, from building job sitework to technical and administrative roles,” says John Ferrante, CEO of AGC MA. “Exposing talented young people like the students at Blackstone Valley Tech to the many lucrative and rewarding career paths in construction is essential to the future health and growth of the industry and to the economy as a whole.”

AGC MA is a chapter of the national Associated General Contractors of America which provides a full range of services satisfying the needs and concerns of its members, thereby improving the quality of construction and protecting the public interest in partnership with its Chapters.

AGC MA received its charter in 1924 and was incorporated in 1935. The chapter has 200 members in locations ranging from Cape Cod to the New York border. Its mission is to provide its members with powerful programs, services, and initiatives that strengthen their competitive advantage and promote the economic strength of the commercial construction industry in the Commonwealth.