For over a decade, unCommon Construction has encouraged young people in New Orleans to build the skills and resources necessary to join the construction industry. As a construction company (and much more) that hires local students for their on-the-job training program, the team builds one to two houses a year from the ground up.
With a background volunteering for the Red Cross, as well as the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity rebuilding effort, Frumin realized he had a knack for teaching people on job sites. After returning to Tulane University to complete his degree, Frumin hit upon the idea of building houses with high school students and using the profits to pay for supporting scholarships.
In many cases, opportunities for young people to get real world experience on construction sites were in volunteerism or service roles. Most schools no longer offer shop classes, for instance.
Frumin’s idea was to use the construction company business as a way to generate revenue to reinvest in the students. This alternative learning environment gets them excited about the careers that start on or around a construction site. Similar to college pathways, there are plenty of career pathways that open up with these entry-level, catalyzing experiences on a construction site.
The unCommon Construction team has created over 500 apprenticeship positions within their program. They have partnered with over 13 local high schools, including the local homeschool population, to create those positions for young people. Their alumni have collectively earned over $500,000 in scholarships and pay over the years. In addition, over 80 percent of their graduates intend to work in the construction industry.
Working with unCommon Construction encourages these young people to see themselves as part of the architecture, construction, engineering, and real estate development economy. They are bringing in a younger and more diverse workforce who see themselves as having real growth opportunities in and around the trades.
In addition, Frumin has plenty of success stories about his alumni. J’Adore completed a couple of semesters with the program, gained experience as a crew leader, and graduated as the valedictorian of Morris Jeff High School. She earned a scholarship to study interior design, which is her current career path.
Joshua, meanwhile, completed two semesters with unCommon Construction prior to the pandemic, and he took a job with one of their industry partners following graduation. While working (and earning promotions), he studied general construction at Delgado and started his own business. The unCommon Construction team now hires him as a subcontractor.
Hunter, a founding apprentice, used his equity scholarship to join the electrical union and become a homeowner – at age 20. Now a journeyman electrician, he lives in Ohio and rents out his New Orleans home for additional income.
“These young people from New Orleans are developing the technical skills, the soft skills, the personal relationships, the social capital, and the professional network to really become leaders in the workforce in our growing city,” said Frumin. Furthermore, the construction industry makes up the backbone of the American economy.
“Everything that you touch was touched by our industry,” said Frumin. Consider the Super Bowl: everything from the airport to the highways to the Superdome itself has been touched by alumni from unCommon Construction.
The unCommon Construction team is excited about their new campus location. As a working construction company, they needed a place to gather, convene, and evolve the apprenticeship program. Their new home on Freret Street includes a two-story community and office space and a large, incorporated learning studio. The centralized location provides a lower barrier to entry for workshops and community events, which can act as precursors to credentialed programs.
“We are proud of how we are able to represent our New Orleans community in a national conversation about education reform, career and technical education, and the workforce needs in our industry,” said Frumin. “Our grassroots, nonprofit organization in New Orleans has innovated some of those existing pathways and systems, and it has garnered recognition for our youth and for our city, so we feel really proud about that.”
Get Involved
Like and follow unCommon Construction across its social media channels to stay involved. Keep an eye out for events such as their Hard Hat Happy Hours at 4:00 pm every Thursday. Community members are welcome to drop by the new campus and learn more about the building and its many programs.
Anyone interested is also welcome to donate to unCommon Construction: give.uncommonconstruction.org/give/247272/#!/donation/checkout
