MIAMI TOWNSHIP, OHIO — From plumbers to auto mechanics, the shortage of skilled trade workers continues to grow across the country. Now, Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts) is breaking ground on a solution in Miami Township.
The Dan Beard Council is constructing a new education center where students in fifth through 10th grade will get hands-on experience with various trades.
The facility will be 10,000 square feet and located within Camp Friedlander in Miami Township. There will be six bays within the center, dedicated to instruction and Merit Badge qualification in Automotive Maintenance, Carpentry, Plumbing, Electricity, Home Repairs and Welding.
Watch the video to see how this facility will provide young people with hands-on experience in high-demand skilled trades:
For every five skilled workers who retire, only two enter the workforce, according to staffing agency Skillwork.
In the Cincinnati area, there is a current gap of 60,000 skilled workers, Dan Beard council leaders said.
"Siri is not going to do it and Alexa is not going to do it," said Jack Kraeutler, retired CEO of Meridian Bioscience and council board member.
The new facility will feature specialized equipment to give scouts real-world experience.
"It'll have a car lift, so we'll teach them how to get cars up and down the lift, which is no easy feat," said Shane Dever, President of Performance Automotive Network.
For Max Plessinger, a 21-year-old Eagle Scout who now works as a technician, the merit badges he earned weren't just for show — they showed him a path to a high-demand career.
"Twenty-one years old, no college debt. Great pension, 401K. I'm currently saving to buy a house next year," Plessinger said.
Plessinger's scout experience included merit badges in auto mechanics, plumbing, and welding – skills that directly translated to his current career fixing heavy equipment.
The Eagle Scout said if the facility under construction had been around when he was growing up, more of his peers would be working alongside him.
That’s something Andy Zahn, CEO of the Dan Beard Council, agrees with. He said the facility represents how a century-old organization is evolving to meet modern needs.
"Now we're able to marry the values of scouting with actual hands-on technical proficiency and opening the door, even at a young age, on what those two married could be," said Zahn.
“We're serving 10,000 young people annually right here in Greater Cincinnati. We need to be at the table. And I really firmly believe the business community will really benefit of having scouting at that table to help solve this crisis,” he said.
The council expects the new education center to be completed by November.
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