Upper Peninsula Construction Council wraps up fifth Building Trades Summer Camp
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Upper Peninsula Construction Council (UPCC) celebrated the graduation of its fifth Building Trades Summer Camp class on Aug. 5, honoring students who spent five weeks gaining hands-on experience, developing career skills and exploring opportunities in the union construction trades.
“This camp gives students something they can’t get from a brochure or a presentation — the chance to actually do the work,” said UPCC Executive Director Mike Smith. “They spend five weeks learning directly from skilled tradespeople, visiting real job sites and seeing the opportunities available to them right here in the U.P. By the time they graduate, they know these are careers they can see themselves building a future in.”
Held this year in Marquette, students earned $14 an hour while working alongside skilled union tradespeople and learning concrete work, scaffold erection, electrical wiring, painting and staining, heavy equipment operation, structural steel assembly, HVAC ductwork, plumbing and welding, wood framing, and industrial machinery installation and repair.
Applicants completed resume writing and interview skills workshops through UP Michigan Works before interviewing for the program, while selected students also received financial literacy training and completed a Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety workshop.
Fridays were dedicated to career exploration through “Field Trip Fridays,” where students toured active job sites and major Upper Peninsula employers, including Payne + Dolan construction site in Ishpeming, Cleveland Cliffs Tilden Mine, the Rayonier lumber mill, Superior Extrusion, the Marquette Wastewater Treatment Plant, Marquette Drinking Water Filtration Plant, Trestle Hotel construction site and St. Peter Cathedral restoration project.
Another camp activity was the “Safety Stand Down BBQ,” which gave students the opportunity to network with contractors, and trade and industry representatives.
Students also gave back to the community by building wooden mine carts and planter boxes for the City of Negaunee.
The camp rotates to a different location in the Upper Peninsula each year to give students from various regions access to the opportunity.
Asked what aspect of the camp surprised him the most, student Mitchell Johnson said welding.
“I’ve never tried welding before, and I really love it,” Johnson said. “And the financial literacy was really helpful, to know how to manage money and not just spend all the money that I earned.”
The camp is organized in partnership with UP Michigan Works, local school districts or ISDs, the Workforce Development Institute, and representatives from the UPCC’s signatory union contractors and trades.
Trades participating in the camp include the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 1011; Operating Engineers Local 324; Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 2; UA Plumbers, Pipefitters and HVAC Local 111; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 906; Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local 7; Ironworkers Local 8; Boilermakers Local 169; Laborers' Union Local 1329; and Carpenters and Millwrights Local 1510.
For more information about future camps and UPCC programs, visit upconstruction.org or follow the UPCC on Facebook at facebook.com/UPConstructionCouncil.
