Minnesota Trades Navigator Hosts Professional Panel for MTA Alumni

High school career days make an impression on young people, but with so many presenters vying for students’ attention, young people can be drawn in different directions and not have adequate time to ask questions.

In April, Minnesota Trades Navigator Charie Gill hosted a panel event in which Minnesota Trades Academy alumni heard personal testimonials from four people involved in the construction trades. The event also created an opportunity for MTA alumni to network with one another. The panel was sponsored by Construction Careers Foundation a Twin Cities based nonprofit that hosts construction experience programming for K-12 students.

Panelists in attendance included Polly Friendshuh, Dunwoody Academic Dean for Construction Science and Building Technology, Dante Vitullo, a Pile Driver Instructor with the Carpenters Training Institute, Marcus Raines, Millwright Business Development Manager, and Deshawn Davis, a Minnesota Trades Academy alumnus and laborer journey worker.

All of the panelists had experience working in the trades and spent a portion of their careers on construction sites across Minnesota.

“Each speaker today shared a different perspective on how a career in construction has shaped their lives,” Gill said. “What unites the Construction Careers Foundation, and all of our panelists is that we know the trades are a viable pathway to economic success and we want to share the value of a trades education with young people.”

Finding Empowerment and Purpose in the Trades

The panel highlighted representation in the trades and was built intentionally with a small Minnesota Trades Alumni – to construction professional ratio.

“We created a more informal, comfortable space so young people could ask professional trades workers questions about their careers questions but also learn about their trades journeys on a more personal level,” Gill said.

Gill prompted the panelists as they introduced themselves to alumni. She also outlined questions that focused on how panelists had learned about the trades, and what their experience was as a student, apprentice, or contract worker.

“We had questions procured but young people followed up with their own thoughts and the panel evolved into real organic conversations. That’s how relationships form,” Gill said. “I loved how our panelists gave personal anecdotes and offered their mentorship to our alumni.”

Entry Into the Construction Field

In addition to providing alumni with perspective on different construction career pathways, Gill and the panelists also provided workplace behavior expectations and asked how panelists handled adversity, disagreement or conflict.

For example, Friendshuh spoke to being the only woman electrician on the jobsite.

“I had people doubt my abilities,” Friendshuh said. “One time I arrived at the worksite and there wasn’t even a women’s bathroom for me to use.”

Friendshuh elaborated that even in uncomfortable or new spaces she made it known that she was going to continue to show up, get the job done, and exceed performance expectations.

“I was a single mother with a young daughter. When things were difficult at work, I focused on her. I studied hard and I demanded equal treatment,” Friendshuh added.

In her role as Dunwoody Academic Dean for Construction Science and Building Technology, Friendshuh continues to promote and foster relationships with the trades and local unions for the benefit of her students.

“The workplace is becoming more diverse and inclusive, things are changing,” Friendshuh said. “But we still need to make our presence known and support our coworkers on site.”

Minnesota Trades Academy Training Comes Full Circle

No one on the panel was better equipped to speak to the importance of MTA than laborer journey worker Deshawn Davis. Davis graduated from the Minnesota Trades Academy four years ago.

“The Minnesota Trades Academy gave me knowledge of the careers in the industry and the mentors were there to answer my questions and help me through the application process,” Davis said. “Good job to everyone who showed up for the panel today, being able to show up on time and prepare to learn is what leaders want to see on a job site.”

Click here for more information on the Minnesota Trades Academy program. To explore more than 30 construction trades visit our Careers page.