BY KEN GARCIA
For Leon Araiza, helping others succeed in life and the construction industry has become part of his mission. Through his company, Advanced Tribal, LLC, in Salem, Oregon, he recruits and trains the next generation of construction professionals.
“I don’t look at it as giving them a job,” he said. “I look at it as helping create a career.”
Araiza, who is Native American, has more than 30 years of experience in construction as a carpenter, concrete/mason and equipment operator. He said he started Advanced Tribal in 2015 to use his expertise to help those in disadvantaged communities.
“One of my visions and goals is to intentionally hire women and men of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community and provide them opportunities in construction,” he said. “I currently have nine employees, and all of them are from the Native community.”
As an AGC of America member, Advanced Tribal utilizes many courses provided by AGC to train its employees. These courses are in addition to those completed through Araiza’s role as a training agent with Northwest College of Construction in Portland, Oregon, and other training sources.
“We use an open-shop apprenticeship program to help train apprentices to become journey-level tradespeople in carpentry, laboring and cement masonry.”
Once they have reached the journey level, professional development is the next step in career advancement. Araiza turned to AGC EDGE, the association’s virtual training program launched in 2022, to help take his training efforts to the next level.
“We’re taking advantage of what AGC provides virtually,” he said.
AGC, through EDGE, offers several educational programs to improve the performance of construction companies and individuals in the industry. These programs are Lean Construction Education Program (LEAN), Construction Supervision Fundamentals (CSF), Building Information Modeling Education Program (BIM) and Project Manager Development Program (PMDP).
Araiza’s workers recently completed the CSF program.
“I brought my whole crew in because it was information everybody could benefit from,” he said. He also has a few team members taking the PMDP courses.
EDGE offers the same high-quality learning experience and expert instruction found in traditional classrooms, all available online. Those who have used the virtual training expressed appreciation for the additional flexibility, especially when needing to remain focused on a project.
“Accessibility from multiple locations,” was a program plus for Daniel Byars with Kinco Constructors in Arkansas. “I can maintain a job site presence if needed,” he noted.
Other benefits of EDGE include bringing together construction professionals from across the country through a high level of interactivity.
“It’s nice to know there is a network of support and knowledge out there and endless avenues of retaining information on how other people handle similar scenarios and situations to what we deal with every day,” noted Spencer Morrison with Balfour Beatty in Oregon.
“It was great to meet and interact with different people from different backgrounds and to hear their experiences and stories,” noted Anna Jacobson with Alan Shintani, Inc. in Hawaii.
Instructors with decades of experience lead programs sharing personal and practical examples. Instructors act more as facilitators than lecturers.
By letting AGC handle the training, EDGE is a valuable tool in helping companies with their workforce development efforts to retain the best and most highly skilled employees.
For Araiza, having this virtual option benefits his efforts to recruit more men and women into construction and gives his employees lifelong skills to use professionally and personally.
“It’s exciting to see what they do with it and watch them, and their confidence, grow,” he said. “It gives them the confidence to take their skill to the next level.”
To learn more about EDGE and to start your company’s professional training program efforts, visit edge.agc.org. Pricing discounts are available to AGC members.