Julian Aguilar works on an electrical installation at a Taylor Morrison home in the Vineyard neighborhood in Sacramento County. Photo courtesy of The Write Stuff Communications

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - Julian Aguilar has wanted to be a construction worker for a long time; he just didn’t know what trade he wanted to pursue.

To learn more, Aguilar, 18, participated in a four-week hands-on construction internship last summer between his junior and senior year at Casa Roble High School in Orangevale. The program, sponsored by the North State Building Industry Foundation, exposed him to a wide range of building trades. This year, for the first time, selected interns from last year were invited to come back for another session to see if they were ready for job offers.

Aguilar jumped at the opportunity.

“The program exposed me to everything, and it’s helped me find what trade I want to be in,” Aguilar said during a break at the new home community under construction in the Vineyard area of Sacramento County. “At first when I got into the program, I wanted to be a framer, then I wanted to be an HVAC worker. And now, I want to be an electrician.”

At the conclusion of the internship, he got his wish. He’s been hired by Republic Electric and will begin work on July 30.

According to Shaun Ruddy, vice president of field operations for homebuilder Taylor Morrison, the senior interns worked hard.

“You can see the effort they’re putting in,” Ruddy said. “They’re trying to prove themselves to the trades like, ‘Hey, hire me when this four-week period’s done.’”

Aguilar was one of 52 Sacramento-area high school students participating in a program this summer that demonstrates there are good careers that don’t require them to go to college and incur large amounts of student debt.

“This is a career you can do without going into debt, going into college very easily and making $30,000 to $40,000 a year in an entry-level position,” said Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Poff. “If you love to work with your hands and you love seeing something come together, figure out piece by piece how it comes together, then this is a great career for you. And you don't have to worry about incurring college debt in order to get a degree to do something when you can do this right out of high school.”

Ruddy agreed.

“We tell them, if you're not interested in college, that's OK, you can make a good living, you can support your family. We brought in representatives from the trades to talk about their story of like, ‘Hey, I don't have a degree, you know? Now after 15 years, I'm the foreman of this company making six figures, making a good living. I have a boat. I have a house. I have my big truck,’” he said.

Ruddy said it is crucial that the homebuilding industry recruits new workers, and soon.

“It's important for us to keep the workforce in place. In the next five to 10 years, this workforce is aging out. For this next generation, it's a great career to have. You can come into the workforce right out of high school, be trained at your career, something you can be proud of. Building the American dream is what we've always thought this was. And it's something these kids coming out of high school can be successful at and move up in the world.”

Students participating this year came from the Sacramento City, Twin Rivers, Natomas, Elk Grove and San Juan unified school districts. Besides Taylor Morrison, Lennar, Toll Brothers and USA Properties offered internships in several developments around the region.

Aguilar said the hands-on internship was a great experience.

“Honestly, I think this program is great because it exposes you to every trade. Maybe you want to work in an office, maybe you want to do paperwork, but the program gives you a glimpse of everything you would do, all hands-on. I think anyone that's able to take advantage of this program should absolutely take it, because it's phenomenal, man. Love it,” he said.

Fortunately, the program is likely to continue into its eighth year as well, Ruddy said.

“As long as I'm here, we'll definitely keep participating,” he said.

Applications for the 2025 internship program will be available early next year. For more information about the program, visit https://bit.ly/4cWjTAX.