CCDI - Construction Career Development Initiative

10/15/2026

10/14/2026

We officially kicked off our 2026–2027 CCDI Academy in St. Louis yesterday, and we are excited about the changes and opportunities ahead for our students this year! First, we are thrilled to welcome Patrick Hanneken to the CCDI team! Mr. Hanneken will be serving as a consultant and leading our St. Louis Academy this year as we put an even greater emphasis on hands-on learning and real-world construction experiences. We are also excited to host our Academy sessions at Concrete Strategies LLC. Training and Innovation facility in Hazelwood, giving students access to a space designed for learning and developing skills in the construction industry. Thank you to Garry Bals and the team for helping to facilitate.

One of the additions we are most excited about is bringing our CCDI alumni back into the classroom, this time as instructors and mentors! Each session will incorporate a journey-level CCDI alumnus to help plan and lead activities alongside Mr. Hanneken. There is something pretty special about seeing former students come full circle and share the skills, knowledge, and experiences they have gained in the trades with the next generation. Our first session was led by McKenzie Hughes, a journeyman cement mason with Keeley Construction and 2023 alumnus, who introduced students to the fundamentals of concrete forming. Students rolled up their sleeves, mixed concrete, learned about the tools of the trade, and got a firsthand look at the skills it takes to succeed as a cement mason.

A big shoutout to McKenzie and Mr. Hanneken for getting us off to such a great start! We also appreciate Concrete Strategies for opening its doors and helping us create meaningful learning experiences for our students. This is what CCDI is all about. Creating opportunities, building relationships, and watching the people who once benefited from this program back back to invest in those following in their footsteps. We cannot wait to see what this year has in store!

10/13/2026

CCDI GEORGIA: Last week marked an exciting milestone for CCDI in Georgia as we celebrated the successful completion of our first Construction Ready training cohort supporting Rivian’s new electric vehicle manufacturing campus in Stanton Springs, Georgia! After four weeks of intensive, hands-on training, all 24 participants attended a hiring fair where every single graduate was matched with a contractor.

The week concluded with a graduation ceremony filled with proud families, excited graduates, and the kind of energy that reminds us why this work matters. For these 24 individuals, this represents more than completing a training program. It is the beginning of a new career path, new opportunities, and the potential for lasting economic impact on their families and communities.

This milestone is the result of more than a year of collaboration, planning, and relationship building. We are incredibly grateful to Construction Ready, Rivian, Clayco, JE Dunn Construction, our participating contractors, and the many workforce and community partners who helped bring this opportunity to life. This is what happens when the workforce development ecosystem works together. When employers, training providers, and community partners align around real workforce needs, we can create meaningful pathways from training directly into employment.

We are proud of all 24 graduates and grateful to everyone who helped make this first cohort a success. And we’re just getting started! We look forward to building on this momentum and planning our next cohorts to connect even more individuals with careers in construction throughout the region.

10/10/2026

10/08/2026

CCDI GEORGIA: Tuesday marked an exciting milestone for CCDI Georgia as 24 students participating in our inaugural Construction Ready cohort interviewed with contractors supporting the Rivian project and construction opportunities across the region. This cohort represents months of collaboration among CCDI, Clayco, Construction Ready, local workforce partners, community leaders, and employers who share a commitment to connecting Georgia residents with meaningful careers in construction.

The hiring fair was made even more memorable by FOX 5 Atlanta, which joined us throughout the day and aired several live segments highlighting the students, their training, and the career opportunities being created through this partnership.

On Friday, we will celebrate the graduation of all 24 students and learn which companies they have been matched with as they take the next step in their careers. We cannot wait to see where their talent, determination, and hard work take them. This is what workforce development looks like when training is connected directly to opportunity.

This is "ATL FOX 5 | Construction Ready Sizzle" by CLAYCO on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

10/08/2026

Some people leave a mark on an organization that is hard to put into words. For CCDI, Dan Lester is one of those people. As Dan closes his 12-year chapter at Clayco, we want to recognize someone who has been part of CCDI’s story since the very beginning.

More than 11 years ago, Dan helped turn an idea into an opportunity for young people who may have never considered a career in construction. Drawing from his own experience with INROADS, he created what would become CCDI’s Saturday Academy, a program built around exposure, mentorship, and connecting young people with an industry full of opportunity.

In those early days, that meant driving around North St. Louis County on Saturday mornings to pick up students who needed a ride. It meant showing up for five students in a room with the same energy and enthusiasm he would eventually bring to a jobsite filled with 4,000 construction workers.

And somewhere along the way, those five students turned into hundreds of young people discovering careers, building confidence, and finding mentors who believed in them.

Dan’s impact is reflected in people like Malik Johnson, CCDI’s very first student, who went on to become a journeyman pipefitter with Local 562 and is now giving back as a mentor himself. These relationships are a reminder that the greatest measure of this work isn’t always found in numbers, but in the lives and careers that continue to grow because someone took the time to care.

Sometimes this work moves so quickly that we forget to slow down and take it all in. We forget about the people behind the scenes who make the phone calls, build the relationships, open the doors, and somehow find the time to make it all come together.

Dan did all of that and more. He helped connect the construction industry with the next generation of talent, challenged people to see potential in others, and brought an energy to every room that is difficult to replicate. Anyone who has watched Dan pull a presentation out of thin air and command an entire audience knows that his ability to connect with people is a rare gift.

And he did so much of this while raising a young family, traveling across the country for work, and volunteering countless hours because he believed in what CCDI could become.

There is no way to capture everything Dan has contributed to CCDI or the construction industry in a single post. But we hope he knows how much those years of service, mentorship, friendship, and dedication have meant to our organization.

Dan, we are proud to be part of your story, just as you will always be part of ours. Thank you for believing in this mission before there was much of a program to believe in, and for helping build something that will continue to impact young people for years to come. You’re a special human, and we are grateful for you.

10/03/2026

CCDI STL: A beautiful day, a great group of people, and plenty of fun along the way. Thank you to every sponsor, golfer, volunteer, partner, and friend who joined us for our 11th Annual CCDI Golf Tournament at Glen Echo Country Club. This event has grown alongside CCDI over the years, and the continued support of our construction industry partners makes it possible for us to keep creating opportunities for young people and individuals pursuing careers in the skilled trades and construction industry.

A very special thank you to our CCDI President, Tom Sieckhaus. Tom truly is the heart of CCDI. The turnout we see year after year is a reflection of the relationships he has built at Clayco over the past 32 years, the people he has brought together, and how deeply he believes in this mission. He is one of those special humans who makes people want to show up and be part of something bigger. We are incredibly fortunate to have him leading CCDI and even more fortunate to call him our friend.

To everyone who continues to show up, invest in our mission, and believe in the people we serve, thank you. 11 years of CCDI would not be possible without you!

10/02/2026

CCDI GEORGIA: This is what it looks like when workforce development is built into the life of a project. As Clayco helps build Rivian’s electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Georgia, CCDI is working to ensure the project also creates lasting pathways for students and residents in the surrounding communities.

Julio Tapia, a student at The University of Georgia College of Engineering and one of CCDI’s 2026 Build Our Future scholars, represents that work in action. His scholarship connection led to an invitation to Clayco College Day in St. Louis, where he gained greater exposure to the industry, explored potential internship pathways, and connected directly with Executive Vice President, Tony Mezines, who is leading Clayco’s work on the Rivian project near Julio’s own community.

Our goal is not simply to introduce young people to construction. It is to connect education, financial support, industry relationships, project experience, and employment opportunities so they can see a future for themselves in the work happening around them. We are proud to support Julio and excited to see where this connection takes him next.

09/17/2026

CCDI GEORGIA: September is Workforce Development Month in Georgia, and what better way to recognize it than by putting workforce development into action. Week 1 of training is underway! Today is Day 3 for the 24 participants in our first 20 day skilled trades training cohort partnership with Construction Ready in support of the Rivian Stanton Springs North project. These participants live in the surrounding counties and have a busy four weeks ahead earning industry recognized credentials, building hands on skills and preparing for the Contractor Hiring Fair on October 6.

Thank you to Clayco EVP Tony Mezines, Mike Zetlmeisl and Shayla Fuller for spending time with the class today and talking about the opportunities ahead.

Special thanks to Georgia BioScience Training Center, Georgia Quick Start, and the Technical College System of Georgia for letting us use this amazing space for training!

Stay tuned for weekly highlights as Cohort 1 gets to work!

09/01/2026

CCDI STL: Back to school and ready to build! Thank you to Concrete Strategies LLC. and Garry Bals for donating new hard hats to Patrick Hanneken’s Construction Trades senior class at North Tech. Wishing these students a great start to the 2026–2027 school year. We’re excited to follow their progress, support them along the way and see where their skills take them next!