The construction industry faces a stark shortage of workers, but programs and people across the country are working at the local level to address the problem. This series highlights efforts to recruit the next generation of construction pros. Read previous entries here.
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Aleem Rashid, 37, worked in real estate for 10 years, managing the remodeling of homes often purchased by investors.
But when the Atlanta real estate market cooled in 2024, Rashid figured he had to pivot careers. Because of his prior experience, he knew construction would be a natural fit and a reliable path forward.
“It's something that I enjoy, something that I do with my kids is: When we pass homes, I will show them, ‘Hey, Dad had a hand in this,’ or ‘Dad had a hand in that,’ or, ‘That house looks completely different,’” Rashid told Construction Dive.
This fall, Rashid was one of the first graduates of a program spearheaded by Clayco and its nonprofit affiliate, Construction Career Development Initiative. The offering is designed to create pathways into the skilled trades for local residents as the builders scale up work on a $5 billion manufacturing plant for electric vehicle maker Rivian.
As a result of the program, Concrete Strategies, a concrete contractor wholly owned by Clayco, has hired Rashid.
CJ Adventures, a joint venture between Clayco and JE Dunn, is constructing the future, 4.5-million-square-foot EV manufacturing campus in Stanton Springs, Georgia. Stakeholders broke ground on the project in September 2025, which is expected to wrap by 2030, according to the state of Georgia.
CCDI and Clayco’s partnership
Tony Mezines, executive vice president at Clayco and project executive on the Rivian build, said the EV company had heard of the St. Louis-based firm's efforts to up recruiting and retention.
When Mezines brought up CCDI, Rivian helped kick off a partnership with a $50,000 investment to support pre-apprenticeship training, scholarships, internships and career exposure across the project’s timeline. That was in addition to $220,000 raised by Clayco and its subcontracting partners.
“When our clients invest in workforce development and into our program, it can really amplify the success of the program,” said Mezines.
The cohort that Rashid joined — one of three — included 24 residents local to the project. They participated in a fully funded, 20-day pre-apprenticeship program delivered by Georgia-based nonprofit Construction Ready.
Graduates received hands-on training in up to eight industry-recognized credentials while gaining the opportunity to connect directly with contractors and employers.
“[Construction Ready] had never really been on the east side of Atlanta. A lot of their cohorts and trainings were on the west side of Atlanta,” Rachel Boemer Ashlock, Program Director at CCDI, told Construction Dive. “So a lot of the residents have been super excited that this opportunity came to their area, that they didn't have to drive an hour and a half across Atlanta.”
The first cohort attended training at a space hosted by Rivian at the Georgia BioScience Center, a training facility run by the state, Boemer Ashlock said. The education included contractor introductions and hands-on craft training, such as building a bench.
Though work on Rivian’s future manufacturing site hasn’t started in earnest yet, the plan is to bring the next cohort to the jobsite for more integrated training, said Mezines.
“Our next cohort, I think the timing is going to work out to where the high schools that we went and visited and met the students at the career fairs, we're going to be able to start seeing those seniors that are interested in getting into construction now be eligible to participate,” Mezines said. “And I think we'll try to do more on site as the project ramps up.”
Broader impact
Mezines said an opportunity like the Rivian build creates chances to not just grow the local trade labor pool, but inspire and recruit the next generation of project managers and civil engineers. Clayco has awarded two scholarships to students at the University of Georgia in the hopes they will join the firm as interns and someday as full-time employees.
Boemer Ashlock highlighted the opportunity as a means to advertise a career in construction as a space divorced from screens or remote work, creating a highly collaborative, personal environment.
“Human connection has never been more important than it is now,” said Boemer Ashlock. “And I think that's why so many people are also looking at the trades. It's like, this is a great career, but it puts you back in a team environment, gets you using your hands and doing meaningful work.”
To that end, Rashid said the person-to-person aspect of the cohort meant more to him in making this change. This was especially true when he spoke to the director of Concrete Strategies at the end-of-training career fair to get a better idea of the work he’d be doing on the Rivian job.
“I really admired the follow-up. The support is genuine. It's not just, ‘Hey, you did this program. You're in, you're out. Best of luck to you. We'll see you when we see you,’” said Rashid. “It's the complete opposite. From the time we finished the program, even ‘til now, the follow-up is still there, the communication and the support is real, and that says a lot.”
