This paper presents an alternative career path for at risk young people of high school age to obtain skills preparing them to enter the construction industry; the third largest economic engine in the State of Florida. The limited options available to these problem youngsters, combined with the scarcity of skilled labor in construction, presents a unique opportunity for a partnership between a university based construction program and a local public institution. The resulting endeavor is, from a funding perspective, mutually beneficial for both institutions. The program also demonstrates how a professional construction education program can fulfill both the educational and service components of its mission. The program described has been successfully working since 1995 at MacArthur South Senior High School in Miami-Dade County. It is a partnership between the Department of Construction Management of the College of Engineering at Florida International University and the Miami-Dade County Public School System.
