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CNY job seekers interested in entering construction field can find help at Westcott Community Center's construction info session

Blue and white image reades, "Syracuse build, first source hiring, supported by Centerstate." A photo to the right shows a woman in a white hard hat and yellow vest looking over construction plans.
Westscott Community Center
Syracuse Build and Westscott Community Center work together to connect Central New Yorkers with paths to construction careers.

Central New Yorkers looking for a good job can learn Tuesday evening about paths to working in the local construction industry.

Syracuse Build and CenterState have partnered with the Westcott Community Center to help job seekers find work at projects like Micron and the I-81 development.

The info session is for anyone motivated to work and wanting to learn more, regardless of prior experience.

“We know, for a lot of our residents, construction is not a career that has been thought about, and a lot of people don't really understand what that work is," Westcott Center’s Executive Director Joan Royle explained about the session's purpose.

"We're going to tell you exactly what that kind of work is, what kind of hours, the kind of commitment, and then to know that this is a process.”

Royle says the session won’t land visitors a job the next week, because getting on a job site first requires basic Occupational Safety Hazard Administration training, or even a high school equivalency. That’s why advisors will be on hand to help assess skills and point attendees in the right direction to fill work experience gaps.

“This isn’t, ‘I’m great, I’m gonna do construction, and then they’re just going to hire me,’" Royle insisted, "you have to help position yourself. And sometimes just getting a little bit of basic construction experience, it can go a long way, and it can get you on that path.”

First, she said, it’s important to show up Tuesday evening between 5 and 6:30 at the Westcott Community Center at 826 Euclid Avenue in Syracuse. Visitors can also preregister through Terrence Butler (terrenceb@westscottcc.org or 315-220-9702).