For decades, the traditional path to career success was narrowly defined: graduate high school, attend college, and enter the workforce with a degree in hand. Schools heavily emphasized this route, often at the expense of other equally rewarding opportunities—like those found in the skilled trades.
But after 53 years of remodeling homes in Walworth County, we at Stebnitz Builders can say with certainty: the construction industry offers fulfilling, stable, and lucrative careers. And today, more schools and organizations are recognizing this truth, opening doors for students to explore life beyond the classroom and into the world of skilled craftsmanship.
Ways We're Supporting Career Exploration in Construction:
Build My Future Southeastern Wisconsin
Established in 2022, Build My Future SE Wisconsin provides local students from southeastern Wisconsin with the opportunity to experience many different career opportunities in the trades. In 2024, the Lakeland Builders Association and Racine-Kenosha Builders Association partnered to welcome nearly 2,000 middle and high school students to the Build My Future event.
During that event, our team partnered with Home Lumber in Delavan to give students a little taste of what it feels like to be a carpenter by building pencil holders from sections of 4x4 posts. Students learned to measure, cut, drill, and sand like real carpenters. Once they finished their project, they were allowed to take their project home with them.
While on the surface, the skills required might seem basic, the sense of pride each student had to show off their pencil holder and tell the story of what they’d learned from us that day was amazing.
Youth Apprenticeships
Since 2018, we’ve proudly partnered with the statewide Youth Apprenticeship (YA) program, offering high school students real-world experiences in carpentry. We've welcomed seven apprentices through this initiative. While we hope these students continue as full-time members on our team, our first goal is to provide them with a clear understanding of all the opportunities available in construction.
Currently, we have Kane Kaiser, a senior at Delavan-Darien High School, working with our team in the field. Three other members of our field team, Grant Schaefer, Max Bochat and Logan Lindloff all started as apprentices and now work full-time as carpenters on the team.
After graduating Elkhorn Area High School in 2020, Grant has progressed through the ranks and is now a Lead Carpenter. Max is working as a Production Carpenter, on his way to a Lead Carpenter position, after graduating EAHS in 2022 and earning an associate’s degree in construction management technology at Waukesha County Technical College. Logan graduated in 2024 and is currently finishing his first year of his associate’s degree in the same program at WCTC while working as a Production Carpenter.
Elkhorn YouthBuild
We’re also proud to support Elkhorn YouthBuild, a hands-on construction program run by the College and Career Academy of Walworth County. Through this initiative, students learn the building process from start to finish while working on homes for organizations like Habitat for Humanity. Our carpenters regularly mentor students on-site to pass on their knowledge and passion for the trades.
On-Site Job Shadows
High school students also have the chance to participate in job shadowing opportunities with our team. Spending time in the office to understand the depth of organization we have and to hear how we take homeowners through the consultative design process, as well as providing them with a front-row seat to the work we perform in the field to produce those projects. It’s a great first step for those considering the Youth Apprenticeship program or a direct admit into a career in construction.
We offer these job shadow opportunities every month, providing students multiple opportunities to experience construction in a real-world environment.
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Whether it’s through a classroom, a job site, or a community project, there are more paths to success than simply a four-year degree. If you know a student with a knack for working with their hands and a desire to build something lasting, encourage them to consider a career in construction. There’s never been a better time or more opportunities to explore what’s possible.