Next NGA West construction training fair set for Aug. 27

Men, women, minorities looking for jobs should attend

By SHERI GASSAWAY
Correspondent

A construction training fair for the new western headquarters of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 27.

The event, hosted by the Kansas City district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at St. Stanislaus Community Center, 1413 North 20th St. in St. Louis. No registration is required, and parking is available on the lot and street.

HUNDREDS OF UNION JOBS
The 100-percent union-built project is the largest federal investment in St. Louis history and offers an unprecedented opportunity to start a career in the construction industry. It will create hundreds of union jobs in the area.

Brendan Fahey, a project manager with the Kansas City district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, recently attended a Missouri Women in Trades meeting to let the group know about the event.

He said attendees will be able to learn about several union apprenticeship programs and get information on McCarthy Building Companies and HITT Contracting, which will be building the mega project.

Work is expected to begin on the new NGA headquarters later this year or early next year and end in 2024, Fahey said. At its peak, 1,100 workers will be onsite at the project each day.

ONE-STOP SHOP FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN CONSTRUCTION CAREERS
“It’s a one-stop shop for anyone interested in a career in construction,” Fahey said. “Those attending will be able to meet with the general contractor for the NGA project and members of the building trades unions and ask a lot of questions.”

Fahey noted that because the new headquarters is a federal project, it is required to meet the U.S. Department of Labor’s goals for federal contract compliance. Specifically, 14.7 percent of the project’s workers must be minorities and 6.9 percent must be women.

ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Next NGA West project will be built at a 97-acre site in the St. Louis Place neighborhood at the intersection of Jefferson and Cass avenues. Light construction activities, grading and survey and inspection work have already begun.

The $1.7 billion project, jointly managed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Air Force, includes a 712,000-square-foot office building, parking garages, visitor center, remote inspection facility and access control points.
The NGA handles computer mapping support for defense agencies. The agency needs a new facility to replace its current location in south St. Louis, where it employs about 3,100 well-paid workers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information on the Aug. 27 Next NGA West construction training fair, call 314-676-9418. To learn more about the project, visit nextngawest.com.