SHAWNEE, Kan. — The Shawnee Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for a new scholarship program aiming to get more students involved in trade programs.
"It's bringing a strong workforce to the Shawnee community and it's keeping those construction trades alive, which are so important to moving our community forward,” said Ann Smith-Tate, president and CEO of the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce. “We need to have the people that are literally boots on the ground making construction like this happen."
This is the first year the chamber will be awarding the Shawnee Economic Development Council Career Ready Program, the scholarship is valued at $1000 and will be awarded to two to three graduating seniors who live in Shawnee and attend private or public school. Smith-Tate says funding was raised by the chamber through auctions and community partners. The scholarship can be used to buy books, tuition, tools and other related costs. Home Depot in Shawnee is also offering scholarship recipients 25% off.
“We've had a great response from our superintendents and the counselors, so that's who we're working with to push that out,” Smith-Tate said. “It's something that they don't see a lot, hopefully we can continue to grow, we'd be happy to go into other trades.”
A.L. Huber is a general contractor based in Kansas City and is facing a shortage in labor seen nationwide. Earlier this year, Associated Builders and Contractors released a report saying the industry will need to hire more than 540,000 workers to meet demand in 2023.
“With the construction shortage of labor, we struggle to make sure that jobs are delivered on time or when projects are completed,” Casey McBride with A.L. Huber said. "Construction, it offers more jobs for people in the community.”
Depending on trades, certifications entry-level jobs in Kansas City start at $20 an hour, but vary. Some companies are also offering incentives, bonus pay and training on-hand.
