During their break from classes over the holidays, 65 GDOE high schoolers took part in coursework from the GCA Guam Trades Academy in Tiyan, learning the skills and processes of modern construction. It's a lucrative industry, and the students in the intersession course embraced the challenge and opportunity.

Dr. Bert Johnston, education director for the Academy, told KUAM News, "[Over] winter break, the Easter break and summertime, we run classes during the daytime specifically for them. And right now, I think we've got about four or five classes running right now. Primarily basically core classes, which are ten modules that are the preliminary for all other of the trades that they can get into and it actually samples where they're they're interested in construction and willing to learn, because that's what we're looking for in our program."

The program's more than a decade strong, with the goal to arm students with technical competency and marketable skills. And the flow of the instruction is about  how to do a job, and how to do it right.

In addition to the knowledge, the students are getting ahead in their career tracks, too. And several students over the years who completed classes have gone on to complete the apprenticeship program. The classes have been held from 8-4:30, with additional times to accommodate schedules.

Dr. Johnston explained, "They can use it for graduation and then they can use it for certification at some point later on. Ideally, we'd like to be able to start at 9th grade and do four years of this. So when they graduate, they're a qualified electrician or an HVAC tech or carpenter."

It's a win/win for our labor force, for quality, for the many projects to come, and for these youngsters who are already building on their futures.