Institutes

Attorney General Crist Impressed by CHOICE CTI
  August 15, 2006

Attorney General Charlie Crist and Superintendent Don Gaetz get a quick lesson in the Auto Desk software, which is used by professional engineers and architects.

CTI graduates and students explain how the program prepares them for a wide variety of careers in the construction industry.

Dean Matt Clark stresses the difference between old-fashioned vocational training and the cutting-edge CHOICE program.

CTI students can choose from three different tracks: Auto Desk design, construction management and construction.

CHOICE Director Jeff Scroggins (left) and Mary Lou Reed of the Okaloosa-Walton Workforce Board, work closely to ensure that CHOICE institutes teach exactly what industry leaders require.

Attorney General Charlie Crist paid a special visit to the CHOICE Construction Technology Institute (CTI) Tuesday afternoon, taking lessons from a student on the professional Auto Desk computer-aided design program and listening to students, staff and industry partners explain how CHOICE is transforming the world of career education.

Dean Matt Clark stressed that the CTI students not only learn the real-life skills needed for jobs in construction and construction management, they also earn nationally-recognized industry certifications worth thousands of dollars. With hundreds of industry partners involved in the program, the students have a unique opportunity to make contacts and be recruited by companies before they even graduate from high school.

"CHOICE has turned career education around: it's gone from the 'dumping ground' to the training ground," said Clark of the program.

The rigorous training and industry certifications prepare students for the workforce, as well as for college. Students can go on to major in engineering, project management or design or head straight into a well-paying job.

Chase Michael, a 2006 graduate who followed the Project Management track at the institute, is now enrolled in Okaloosa Walton College (OWC). She plans to finish her AA and then transfer to the University of Florida. Her favorite part of the CTI program was her internship experience with O'Shea Builders of Destin. "I'd rather be on a job site than in a classroom," she explained.

When Andrew Collins - a fellow CTI graduate - enrolled at OWC, he discovered that his certifications and training meant he had already mastered much of the coursework taught there. He is currently working with a group of electrical engineers to design a high-level security system for the Smithsonian museums, as he completes his degree.

The CTI students are now a highly marketable group in one of Florida's most important industries. According to Skip Miller of the Florida Building Industry Association, the construction industry is worth $42 billion per year to the economy of Florida. Miller emphasized the importance of having a well-educated and trained work force and assured the students in the audience that they would have no trouble at all finding work in the industry.

"This is an awesome opportunity," stated senior Tandon Green, who is studying construction management at CTI. He plans to attend OWC for two years and then continue on for a four-year degree in project management at the University of West Florida (UWF). "Ever since I was in kindergarten, people have asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I realized I wanted to build my own house and that's how I became interested in CTI. I'm going for as many certifications as I can get my hands on."

Jimmy Boswell is also a senior in the construction management track. He already knows how to read blueprints and is now learning how to manage the "junior" students. He is part of a group which has been tasked with estimating the cost of the building materials for the house the students are building right on the campus.

The house will be sold in a sealed auction, according to CTI instructor Royal Preston. "I wasn't interested in having the students build a wall just to tear it back down," he said. "This is a real house where a family is going to live and the students do it all - even helping with the design."

For more information about the CHOICE Construction Technology Institute, contact Matt Clark at (850)833-3317.

For more information about the CHOICE programs in Okaloosa County, visit www.choiceinstitutes.com .