Classes to start Jan. 31 at Enzweiler Building Institute
COVINGTON, Ky. – An information session will be held Dec. 10 for prospective students of two long-awaited construction trades training programs opening in Covington in early 2023.
At the session, students can learn about curriculum and classes, how to apply, deadlines, tuition, scholarships, and other details for two separate but related workforce development opportunities:
- The Enzweiler Building Institute’s new construction trades school, which will teach skills related to carpentry, electric, HVAC, welding, masonry, plumbing, and facilities maintenance and remodeling.
- A workshop-based program called the Covington Academy of Heritage Trades that will teach the “lost skills” involved in repairing, restoring, and maintaining historic buildings.
Both programs will be based at 3923 Winston Ave. just north of Dollar General in the Latonia Commerce Center, where the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky is renovating space.
That space is also the site of the information session. It begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, with a formal presentation that will last about 30 minutes, so attendees should be on time.
After the presentation, students can take a tour of the facility, talk one-on-one with officials from Enzweiler, and even enroll. The entire session will last about 90 minutes, said Vicki Berling, Director of Professional Development for the Enzweiler Building Institute.
For planning purposes, an RSVP is requested to vicki@buildersnky.com.
Berling said she expected the session to be well-attended, both by high school seniors and older residents who are interested in starting a new career.
“We have received so much interest in these programs from both employers and would-be employees, so we’re excited to finally be able to come forth with details about everything from the curriculum to the schedule and to be able to actually enroll students,” Berling said.
With an eye on “skilling up” its workforce and helping its families secure high-paying jobs, the City of Covington is a financial supporter of both programs and a partner in the Heritage Trades program.
Covington Economic Development Director Tom West said the City is excited to see its investment of ideas, energy, and funding about to pay off.
“Partnering with Enzweiler has been better than we could have imagined,” West said. “They move at the speed of business and turned the idea of a Covington campus for construction trades into a reality within months, as well as help bring the City’s vision for a preservation trades program to fruition. And with Enzweiler, the companies that are going to hire the graduates run the organization, so students can be assured they are learning what is needed to move straight into a great job.”
The inaugural session of classes for the Enzweiler Building Institute’s construction trades school at the new campus will run from Jan. 31 to June 1. (The Institute has run a similar school in Erlanger since 1967.)
Because this session is beginning in the middle of the school year, the session will be “accelerated and compressed,” meaning that students will attend classes three nights a week instead of two, Berling said. That way, students will learn a year’s worth of material in half a year. Come fall 2023, the classes will revert to the more typical schedule.
What classes are offered will depend on how many people sign up for each, she said.
Also at the Dec. 10 information session, prospective students can learn about the Covington Academy of Heritage Trades workshops, which Enzweiler will manage.
General Intro workshops could begin as early as February, with singularly focused workshops beginning in late spring. The three-story former Colonial Inn motel at 1515 Madison Ave. will serve as a working classroom for students learning techniques and skills specific to historic structures, as explained in this recent release, "Restoration trades school coming soon."
# # #