HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — When you think of a construction job site, high school students probably aren't the workers you picture. Most of them are barely old enough to vote.
"As an 18-year-old that's doing something like this, it's amazing," said Lamar Pettiford, a senior at Varina High School.
Students enrolled in Henrico County Public Schools' Advanced Career Education program, known as ACE, are completing the second floor of the Hermitage Advanced Career Center. From installing electrical to sealing HVAC systems, these contractors in training are doing real work on a real commercial job site.
"Knowing our programs are growing, knowing ... that we needed a commercial job site," said HCPS Director of Workforce and Career Development Mac Beaton. "Everyone agreed to build the second-floor shelf space and let our kids do it. It’s truly a win, win, win, for everyone."
Beaton says the second level of the state-of-the-art ACE Career and Technical Education Center was deliberately built unfinished in 2024, giving students pursing the construction trade a job site as their classroom.
Wednesday, 40 to 50 students specifically trained in electric and HVAC installation spent hours installing outlets and sealing HVAC ducts for the areas of the building which will become future classrooms for the ACE Center's nursing, dental and sports medicine programs.
"Half of your day is a trade school, half of your day is education so this way you have a good foundation on both," said Brogan Van Lesser, a senior at Glen Allen High School.
Van Lesser said the hands-on experience changed his outlook.
"Turns out I really enjoy it, you know, it's a lot of fun. I think I'm sort of built more for physical labor, so yeah I really love it, and I'm glad with the choice that I made," Van Lesser said.
For Pettiford, the motivation was practical from the start.
"Why not learn a trade so I can do it myself and not pay someone else to do it?" Pettiford said.
Beaton, Director of Workforce and Career Development for Henrico County Public Schools, said the project came together because the need was clear.
"Having an opportunity like this to show the students what commercial construction trades are like and experience it, and then having our business partners here teaching them and talking about what they're doing, why they're doing it, how they're doing it, gets everybody excited," Beaton said.
Beaton said the real benefit isn’t just in the center the students are building but in the workforce HCPS is trying to help rebuild.
"If we don't do more projects like this, I don't know where our workforce is going to come from," Beaton said.
Brandon Robinson, CEO of Associated General Contractors of Virginia, said workforce development is the top concern among his members and what Henrico is doing stands out.
"At AGC Virginia, when we talk with our members, the number one concern they have is workforce development. Finding the next generation of workers. So what they're doing here at the ACE Center in Henrico County is absolutely just fascinating and innovating," Robinson said.
Industry experts estimate that within five to 10 years, 50% of the construction workforce will retire.
Robinson says part of his job is serving as a connector between students in the ACE program and the 400 business members of the AGC to address the gap of the workforce shortages employers are experiencing.
"What they're doing is creating a living classroom where our member companies can come in and work alongside students. Students can get the skills they need to have a successful career," Robinson said.
Beaton said the engagement from businesses has been a key part of the program's success.
"They get to interact and be engaged with our students and see that future workforce being built in front of them," Beaton said.
For Pettiford, the program has already opened a door. He has a job lined up at Eaton Construction after graduation.
"Actually, it really doesn't feel like work. It's like you're creating something. It's really like art, for real," Pettiford said. "It's great that somebody will use something that I created."
In the upcoming school year, Henrio County Board Of Supervisors allocated $20 million to the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), doubling the amount they received for the 2025-26 school year. County leaders said the money allocated will be to address mechanical needs, including HVAC, electrical and plumbing.
Beaton says that the program he's helped develop at the ACE center has already helped the county with an estimated 3/4 of construction costs, thanks in part to local employer partnering with the ACE and donating the necessary raw materials and apprenticeships for students.
While no plans are currently in the works, he hopes one day HCPS will be able to leverage the talent coming out of its construction trade students to work on facility maintenance throughout the school division.
"That's one of the things that we're looking at, is how can our students help with some of these opportunities?" Beaton said. "In Henrico County, we have great opportunities and there's nothing I'd like better then for some of these students to come back and work for Henrico County."
One of the wings of the second floor of the ACE Center has a target completion date of August. Beaton says students will continue work on the ACE Center throughout the summer.
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