Earn While You Learn
Workforce Development
S & B believes strongly in investing in our craft employees, creating paths to sustainable and rewarding careers. World-class project execution begins with a well-educated workforce, which is why we offer our team members many opportunities to enhance their skills in an “earn-while-you-learn” environment including on-the-job-training as well as specialty training programs available at our innovative Craft Education and Skills Enhancement Center in Baytown, Texas.
Understanding the importance of building and expanding our skilled workforce, we have also developed programs aimed at bringing in new workers who have not traditionally considered careers in the construction industry.
NCCER-Based Curriculum
We are one of the largest users of the NCCER (National Center for Construction Education and Research) curriculum in the USA. Since 1999, S & B has been an NCCER Accredited Sponsor and NCCER Accredited Assessment Center.
Following the NCCER curriculum, our craft employees can advance their education at their own pace, taking advantage of on-the-job, “earn-as-you-learn” opportunities or regularly-scheduled classes, as well as curriculum materials that can be taken home for study.
Employees can progress from Helper to Craft Professionals using the nationally-recognized NCCER curriculum, led by our NCCER Certified Instructors.
Specialty Apprenticeship Programs
America is experiencing a renaissance in the energy and petrochemical manufacturing industries. To meet the expected construction demands for these industries over the coming years, we understand the need to build and expand a skilled workforce.
S & B has developed a results-driven, hire-to-train apprenticeship program which actively recruits individuals who may not previously have considered careers in the construction industry. Past and current programs have focused on such groups as women, veterans and high school graduates who are not interested in college.
The apprenticeship program consists of a 16-week curriculum which includes classroom instruction, hands-on training in the open-air bays at our new Craft Education and Skills Enhancement Center and on-the-job-training at our construction sites.
Our training model is efficient, cost-effective, delivers proven, measurable results, and is scalable to any population of workers seeking to enter a profession offering a progressive, rewarding, life-long career.
S & B’s apprenticeship program is becoming the gold-standard in the industry and has received national attention from industry leaders and the White House.
Craft Education and Skills Enhancement Center
In 2018, we celebrated the grand opening of our new and innovative Craft Education & Skills Enhancement Center in Baytown, Texas. The new 12,500 square foot facility includes classrooms, administrative offices and open-air bays where students receive hands-on training in all of the major craft disciplines, including welding, pipefitting, electrical, millwright, civil & rigging, carpentry, crane operating, ironworking, scaffolding and safety.
The new training center serves as the central hub of our wider workforce development program, which also includes on-the-job activities at our construction sites as well as classroom training at our various locations around Houston. This allows our craft professionals to “earn-as-you-learn.”
Pioneers in Craft Education and Workforce Development
For over 50 years, S & B has been a trailblazer in workforce development and the continuing education of our employees. We are dedicated to building a skilled workforce while offering economic opportunity and family-sustaining wages to workers in our local communities.
A Brief History of S & B's Craft Education
