Winners of $2,500 Tape UniversityTM Education Scholarships Announced
HICKORY, N.C. (December 2019) – As concerns surrounding the skilled trade labor crisis continue to persist, a unique partnership between education and industry is equipping students to change the narrative for their future careers. Shurtape Technologies, LLC, a leading manufacturer and marketer of pressure-sensitive tapes, recently worked with the Sachse Construction Academy on a one-day event in Detroit that provides local high schoolers with a hands-on introduction to various skilled trades and the numerous and lucrative career opportunities in these industries. Attending students were also given the chance to win one of two $2,500 Tape UniversityTM Education Scholarships to put toward the cost of a trade education.
Sachse Construction, a premier, national commercial construction management firm, and Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about work readiness, welcomed more than 500 Detroit high school students into Eastern Market on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the fourth annual Sachse Construction Academy. Honored as a 2019 finalist in the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Citizens Award for Best Economic Empowerment Program, Sachse Construction Academy is a step toward solving the skilled trades gap in Detroit. Students learn the value, benefits, and opportunities that exist in the skilled trades, while gaining access to resources for apprenticeships, continued education, and career opportunities. The Journey 2 Jobs component of the program, in partnership with Shurtape, Carhartt, The Home Depot, Detroit at Work, Going PRO in Michigan, and Mercantile Bank, featured tactile demonstrations like masonry, plumbing, painting and electrical.
“Over the course of four years, the Sachse Construction Academy has evolved to not only educate youth on the skilled trades, but also provide resources to obtain fulfilling career opportunities,” said Todd Sachse, CEO and founder of Sachse Construction. “We are so grateful to have found a partner in Shurtape, whose mission to close the skilled trades gap closely aligns with ours. Their generous scholarships have played a pivotal role in making careers in the skilled trades more attainable for Detroit youth.”
To be eligible for Shurtape’s 2019 Tape UniversityTM Education Scholarships – named after the Company’s tape education-focused TapeUniversity.com website – students in attendance at the Construction Academy event were asked to describe why they want to acquire a skilled trade and how they can make an impact on the growing labor shortage in these industries.
After much anticipation, Shurtape is excited to announce the selected winners of the scholarships: Mitchell Doyle and Fantayjah Johnson.
Mitchell is currently a student at Ferris State University where he is studying Construction Management. His pursuit of learning a skilled trade came as a result of seeing the labor shortage firsthand while he worked for a local mechanical construction company last summer. Mitchell believes that the best way to advocate for and increase the number of skilled trade workers is through education, which is why he’s committed to graduating and entering the workforce – and encouraging others to do the same.
Fantayjah is a high school senior who has always wanted to use her hands and her mind to solve complex problems. With a desire to start her own company one day, Fantayjah plans to become an electrician as she feels that a career in this industry not only affords her the opportunity for financial stability, but also to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams. For Fantayjah, addressing the skilled trades labor shortage extends beyond her own education and she hopes to use her future platform as a business owner to help other students catch the vision of what growth resurgence means for their city and these industries.
“It was exciting to see so many young students with an enthusiasm for skilled trades. We received scholarship applications from students interested in everything from construction and electrical to HVAC and welding – all skills that they had the chance to experience hands-on at the Sachse Construction Academy,” said Lisa Zierfuss, product manager for Building and Construction/HVAC tapes at Shurtape. “Mitchell and Fantayjah both impressed us with their advocacy for skilled trades in their immediate sphere of influence as well as their desire to invest in the education of future students. It is our pleasure to extend Tape UniversityTM Education Scholarships to these two, and we are excited for what the future has in store for them!”
Learn more about Shurtape’s education programs – including its Mission: HVAC scholarship program for HVAC students and schools – at TapeUniversity.com. For more information on the Sachse Construction Academy, visit www.sachseconstructionacademy.com. To learn more about Shurtape brand, visit Shurtape.com.