Suffolk announces success of FGCU students through Career Start program

ESTERO – FGCU graduates are continuing their successful tracks through Suffolk’s Career Start program.

Suffolk launched their internal Career Start program in 2007 as a “boot camp” for their Build Smart approach to construction management. The program moves its participants through eight-month rotations in preconstruction, project management, and field operations.

Eleven years later, 179 employees have graduated from the program nationally and the company is seeing a high retention rate among graduates.

Jack Hernandez graduates from the program this month and will be starting his permanent position in Suffolk’s preconstruction department as an estimator. Hernandez spent two years in the program, starting as a project engineer at Suffolk’s Moorings Park project. Similar to other Career Start participants, he didn’t have a background in construction before joining Suffolk but graduated from FGCU in 2016 with a degree in accounting. 

Recent FGCU graduate Alex Brawley just joined the Career Start program and will be doing his first rotation at University Village Phase II until March 2019. Brawley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering.

FGCU grad Chase Hilderbrand is kicking off his second year in a project management Rotation at Bentley Village until December, then will join Suffolk’s preconstruction department. He earned his degree in civil engineering.

Two additional Career Start participants, who graduated from other schools, are also starting their final years of the program.

Skyler Sadez graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in construction management and is starting his second year in field rotation at Suffolk’s Tampa Hard Rock project before joining the preconstruction team.

Blake Holmes graduated with a degree in business administration from the Citadel and is starting his second year locally in an estimating rotation and will end up his final rotation in field operations.

"Career Start is the foundation for our revolutionary approach to construction and our ‘build smart’ philosophy,” said Suffolk’s Chief Operating Office for Florida’s Gulf Coast Josh Christensen. “This is where we begin to develop and support the innovative, curious and forward-thinking construction professionals who will become leaders for our company."

"Our development programs are outside-the-box for our industry, and we’ve realized over the years how absolutely critical they are to our success,” said Pete Tuffo, president and general manager for Suffolk’s southeast region. “Career Start offers a solid foundation of skills that ultimately help our people consistently deliver quality projects and exceed client expectations. Our technical course offerings teach our people the construction management skills necessary to build quality buildings on-time and on-budget, while our leadership training courses reinforce our focus on collaboration and communication."

Suffolk provides a carefully planned learning environment to encourage career growth. While a college degree is required to participate in the Career Start program, a degree in building construction or a related major is not. In fact, some of the company’s most recent Career Start hires hold degrees in political science, economics, sociology, engineering and more.

In the recent active construction market, Suffolk has leveraged their Career Start program to bolster recruiting efforts and develop new hires. In addition to providing the recent college graduates with experience in each of the company’s main operational areas, it also supports the growth of the employee’s skills and competencies, as supported by a personal mentor.

Mentors help familiarize new Career Start participants with the company’s corporate culture and processes, while providing support and encouragement for a more productive work environment and shortened learning curve. Senior advisers are also assigned to each employee to help maintain continuity throughout the entire Career Start program, ensuring they have completed all rotations successfully, and providing input to properly place the employee into the most appropriate position and department upon completion.

Suffolk is a national building contractor with $3 billion in annual revenue and offices in Boston, New York City, Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Estero, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. We service clients in every major industry sector, including healthcare, science and technology, education, federal government, gaming, aviation and commercial.