Sioux City, Iowa — A new hands-on learning facility in northwest Iowa is designed to help fill high-demand jobs.
The Sioux City Community School District’s Career Academy has opened a construction trades building for students, including 17-year-old Nathaniel Hamann who attends East High School.
Students at the facility study skills that are valued by potential employers, like Skip Perley, the CEO of Thomson Solutions Group, an electrical contractor and technology integrator. He’s also board president of the Sioux City Public Schools Foundation.
Perley says he started his career as an electrician right out of high school. He says his company is struggling to find trained, qualified workers.
The program now has 44 students learning about plumbing, H-VAC, electrical, and even building new houses, including Habitat for Humanity homes.
