This year Lengacher Bros. has participated in two high school internship programs, hiring seniors through construction management related programs.

“As our workforce continues to decrease we need to stress the importance of trades as a competitive career option and do our part in opening our businesses to students to learn and see firsthand what the construction industry has to offer,” said Steve Lengacher, president. “If we expect kids to choose a trade over college, we need to be in the schools offering opportunities. It’s our generation’s responsibility to pass down our knowledge and share our skills.”

Nathan Bradtmueller is a senior at Woodlan High School and is interning with Lengacher Bros. through their ICE program. He started in the fall of 2019 and will work until graduation. He plans to study construction management at Trine University and work for Lengacher Bros in the summers. He said that his favorite part of the internship is leaning everything it takes to build something and seeing the entire process – and how fast they can do it.

Brison Beekley is a senior at Norwell High School and started working for Lengacher Bros. in the spring 2020 after completing an internship painting. He wanted to explore different construction trades and especially enjoys framing and the accomplishment of “building” something and seeing a building take form. Bryce’s internship is through the Anthus Center and will last through graduation. He is undecided about choosing the Army or continuing with construction, immediately after graduation.

Both boys are shuffled on different framing crews and work on residential and commercial projects to give them exposure to a variety of construction environments. They are learning job and tool safety procedures and putting them to action, giving them actual skills and hands-on experience, as well as teaching them how to work together and the importance of work ethic. They get to see firsthand, all phases of the construction process when all the trades work together on a job site.

Specifically, Nathan and Brison are gaining experience in the following: reading and understanding blue prints, building walls, setting trusses, installing windows and doors, installing siding, installing shingles, and doing basic construction labor and job site clean-up.

“My hope is that the boys have a feeling of accomplishment each day and enjoy driving by a completed job and are proud to say ‘I build that!’” said Lengacher. “Construction is a very rewarding career and I hope we can continue to take on internships in the future.”