New Construction Career Opportunities in Kingsport

Shiplap, cantilever, joist… Do you know what these words mean? Now you can learn! New opportunities are available for those interested in a construction trades career with technical classes offered by the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton.

Classes will be available this January for post-high school and high school students who wish to further their career technical education. The first class in this new construction technology program is on construction itself. The class, Building Construction Technology, covers subjects such as carpentry, masonry, plumbing, electrical and HVAC. Classes will be held at the former Sullivan North High School.

TCAT utilizes an open-ended enrollment model; as a student completes training and graduates, a new student is enrolled. All levels of students are enrolled in the programs at any one time. The instructor works individually or in small instructional groups to deliver content and assessments. Programs are highly focused in hands-on instructional methods.

“This new program is wonderful for Kingsport and the citizens of this region because there are not many industries growing faster than construction,” said Alderman James Phillips. “If you are looking for a good paying job and love to work with your hands, the new TCAT Construction Program is perfect. As a contractor and developer I talk with many different people in the building industry and each of them tell me the same thing: ‘We need quality workers with some training and we will pay good wages for them.’”

TCAT Elizabethton combines theoretical knowledge with practical hands on experience through a wide range of rigorous, technical, competency-based programs. The full degree program takes 20 months to complete; however, the program is designed so that a student can enter the workforce with a certificate at various points throughout the program if that is the route they choose.

With the construction market going strong, this is an ideal time for anyone with an interest in the construction field to get started. For more information on TCAT Elizabethton, please visit tcatelizabethton.edu.