With industry support, MCC expands Construction Trades program amid workforce shortage

Mesa Community College announces the expansion of its Construction Trades Program, including a redesign of existing space and a 1.5-acre, one-of-a-kind construction “laydown yard”, the first in the nation to be built at a community college, with strong support from the college’s construction industry partners. The expansion comes at a critical time in the construction industry which is experiencing a considerable national, state and local workforce shortage.

A grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at the laydown yard, followed by tours of the yard and redesigned facilities, was held Oct. 10 at the MCC Southern and Dobson Campus, 1833 W. Southern Ave. 

Special guests included Mesa Mayor Mark Freeman; Lowe’s Foundation Director Betsy Conway, a major program supporter; the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), another major supporter; and construction industry partners. 

“We have searched and as far as we know, this is the only community college laydown yard in the country,” said David Cain, Ph.D., Construction Management/Trades program director and Applied Sciences and Technology Department faculty. He added that holding the grand opening event in October couldn’t be more appropriate, as October is Careers in Construction Month, celebrating construction professionals who build and maintain communities.

Located in a former parking lot east of the Applied Science and Technology Building and nicknamed “Construction-Zona” by the program’s students, the new laydown yard was designed by Cain to resemble real construction yards used on building projects 

throughout Greater Phoenix. Such yards serve as secure staging areas for storage and organization of equipment and materials and preparation of materials for installation. 

The yard has four pods dedicated to carpentry, concrete, MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) and solar. Pods consist of shipping containers covered with canopies to create shaded work/storage spaces where students learn to perform a variety of tasks important in construction. In collaboration with Arizona State University’s 2+2 program, Cain said a fifth pod will provide space for ASU instructors to teach masonry and concrete to both MCC and ASU students. Encircling the yard is a fence outfitted with a decorative wrap designed by local high school artists to avoid student distraction from onlookers.

Cain said eventually a non-brick and mortar, portable classroom may be added in the yard so students can easily transition from what they just learned in class to hands-on implementation. 

Other redesigned expansion space includes a laboratory situated in the Applied Science and Technology Building featuring small pods for learning safety measures and national construction industry methods and procedures. Also, as part of the expansion, three new courses are being introduced in 2025-2026. These include masonry, which was introduced in Fall 2025, HVACr which will launch in Spring 2026, and solar which will be introduced in Summer 2026.

MCC currently offers Certificates of Completion (CCL) in Carpentry, Electrical and Plumbing and Associate’s degrees in Construction Management and Construction Technology. CCLs are focused programs with courses covering safety, tools, blueprints, calculations, trade-specific codes, materials, and installation techniques.

Cain emphasized that “the project could not have become a reality without the overwhelming support of the college’s construction industry partners who contributed more than $600,000 in funds, materials, supplies, equipment, labor and scholarships. We heavily rely on the construction community to ensure our students not only learn their craft with the latest tools and technology, but will have the full experience of working in the field.”

Partners include ADOT, Lowe’s Foundation, Arizona Masonry Council, DPR Construction, OES (a subsidiary of DPR), Goettl HVACr, Mortenson Construction, Total Rental (a subsidiary of Mortenson Construction) and Sundt Construction. MCC Construction Trades students and faculty provided additional labor.

Extra support came from a Lowe’s Foundation $1 million Gable Grant to the Maricopa County Community College District of which more than $483,000 was directed to MCC to support the growth of its Construction Trades programs; and ADOT funds for scholarships in addition to construction funds and student safety equipment. These investments not only prepare the next generation of skilled workers but also address the pressing demand for qualified professionals in the construction field.

“The demand for skilled tradespeople is currently at a 150,000 worker deficit in our community,” Cain pointed out. “For every five skilled workers who retire today, only two skilled workers are replacing them in the workforce. This represents the skills gap in Arizona and the United States.”

Construction jobs throughout the country remain in high demand. According to a talent shortage survey conducted by Manpower Group, skilled trades remain the hardest jobs to fill for the seventh year in a row. 

The Construction Labor Market Analyzer indicates that Arizona has a shortage of 195,440 trained talent needed to fill a variety of construction jobs. The areas in most need are craft labor and carpentry although masons, ironworkers, electricians, heavy equipment operators, painters, pipefitters, millwrights, roofers and other trades are also in great demand.

According to the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, the construction industry is expected to see the highest rate of job growth, 3.3%, through 2025. By 2031, Arizona is projected to add 37,000 new construction jobs.

Cain gave several reasons for the labor shortage. “Four decades ago, we offered high school industrial arts, shop and other manual labor programs and classes. Today most of them have vanished from our secondary education system because we have de-emphasized trade schools. He cited cultural, educational and institutional biases for the decline. “You don’t need a four-year college degree to achieve a lifelong career.” 

Another reason for the acute shortage is that in Arizona, and especially in Phoenix, rapid growth consisting of large infrastructure projects, data centers and industrial warehouses require an abundance of skilled labor.

Cain said, “Although our construction trades program initially launched just two years ago, we are gaining momentum. We cannot adequately train the future construction workforce from a book. Hands-on experience is necessary – our partners are literally building the foundation for their future workforce through our programs.” 

Visit mesacc.edu/build for additional information on MCC’s Construction Trades programs.