Building the Future Together: Partnering with Community Colleges to Build Talent Pipelines

At Messer Construction Co., we believe one of the best ways to prepare the next generation of builders is through hands-on experience. That’s why we’re proud to support Pellissippi State Community College’s (PSCC) new Earn and Learn initiative for Civil and Construction Engineering Technology students.

Through this program, students spend two days a week in class and the rest of their time gaining valuable on-the-job training with Messer and other program partners. It’s an opportunity for students to develop practical skills while earning a paycheck and building a strong foundation for their careers.

For Messer Project Manager Fuju Wu, the Earn and Learn initiative’s value stems from students honing construction techniques on the jobsite and experiencing the operational side of being in the field, which is hard to learn from textbooks.

“I think this program really benefits both of us,” Wu said. “We get a good candidate that we can start training and start growing – have them learning our program, our culture – and then they get an opportunity to know what the real career looks like.

Adds Messer Senior Project Manager Jason Adam: Earn and Learn allows students to learn what construction is all about, and its many different components and pathways. “I wish they had programs like this when I was younger,” he said.

Read more about this program, including insights from a PSCC student and staff member, here: https://www.pstcc.edu/news/2025/100925-civ-eng-earn-and-learn/.