With all the construction in Huntsville and the surrounding counties, the construction industry’s well-publicized skilled labor shortage got a boost from Turner Construction Company’s School of Construction Management.

The company recently graduated 17 students in its first class in Huntsville to help fill that void.

Designed to train students from disadvantaged and minority-owned businesses in a variety of good-paying, construction-related jobs, Turner’s eight-week training program covers everything from construction management and administration, to site safety, bidding, estimating and procurement. It also teaches students how to develop technical skills, learn about field operations, and lean building processes.

The students also learn how to build strategic relationships and partnerships within the wide-ranging building industry.

Turner has built partnerships with businesses across North Alabama to help improve the economic viability of these graduates who might not otherwise have been exposed to these opportunities.

The class of 2019 members are Verrick Green, Project Teamwork & Development; Brenda Perryman, Transit Management Oversite & Solutions; Tamisha Atkins, Atkins Lawn Care; Ben Freeman, Thomas Electric; Leah Taylor, Taylor’s Victory Garden Center; Arthur Terrell Vaughn, MMI Inc.; Jimmy Morris Jr., Morris Builders; Fredrika Atkins, Atkins and Goolsby Inc.; Angela Dunn and Dale Jones, Ultimate Roofing; John Carroll, International Construction Project Management; Marsau Scott, Scholt Industries; Deborah Holt and Barbara Gillum, Always Available Services; Terrence Rudolph and Tamika Randolph, Trinity Construction Group; and Esteban Guadarrama, an Alabama A&M student.

Turner has been offering skills-based training in more than 30 Turner Construction offices nationwide since 1969.