Initiated by the growing demand for a highly skilled workforce, CEF was created with the mission to provide our industry with the most qualified, technically trained, and safe craft professionals.
CEF was established in 1996 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and has facilitated over 77,000 student class registrations in the last 23 years.
As a recognized leader in craft professional and career development education, CEF is an accredited provider of workforce education by the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), the American Council of Construction Education (ACCE), the United States Department of Labor (DOL), and the United States Veterans Administration (VA). CEF is also an approved training provider for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Founded on the platform and strength of industry education programs from TEXO, CEF is in its 23rd year of workforce development service to the employees of TEXO member companies.
Dallas County Community College District/North Lake College Campus has been a valued education partner for workforce development dating back with ABC and AGC chapters for the last 40 years. This partnership resulted in the construction industry being a major contributor for tenant finish and parking lot construction of the current DCCCD/NLC/CEF training center at the DFW Education Center/North Lake West Campus that opened in Fall 2000. The current facility is a leased facility not owned by DCCCD. DCCCD/North Lake Campus has committed major funding toward a permanent facility for workforce development education.
AND IT ALL BECOMES NEW
CEF is facilitating an industry-wide effort to identify in-kind monetary donations to a new Construction Sciences Building due to open in the first quarter of 2021.
The new Construction Sciences Building is a twostory, 96,500-SF education and training facility that will provide a cutting-edge learning environment for present and future generations of industry professionals. The building will include interactive high-tech laboratories and classrooms with the latest technologies, systems, and construction methods. Labs will include areas for in-progress building construction, sheet-metal fabrication, carpentry, drywall/acoustical, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, welding, and pipefitting. Shared labs will address fire protection and sprinkler fitting, backflow protection, and safety.
Rusty Vaughn, owner of Texas Air Systems, and Ed Reeve, retired EVP at TDIndustries, are co-chairing the capital campaign for the new building. If you would like to be involved in this great milestone for workforce development in our market, please contact Rusty by phone at 214.228.8939 or by email at [email protected] and/or Ed Reeve by phone at 214.232.3819 or by email at [email protected].
New courses to meet industry’s needs are under development daily by the CEF staff working with talented volunteer industry professionals and subject material experts who guide and vet the classes.
CEF has class offerings in seven trades with craft training and apprenticeship levels 1-4 in each trade, blueprint reading, estimating, CAD, piping isometrics, construction math, language development ESL/Spanish for construction sites, State of Texas Licensing continuing education, supervisory training (six units), customized classes, in-house training, pre-apprenticeship training, and construction management and technology.
CEF is industry lead and industry driven by its trade councils and committees as well as its Executive Board and Board of Directors.
Currently representing TEXO on the CEF Board, Chaired by Chris Peck, J.E. Dunn:
- James Belota, DynaTen Corp
- Louis Schindler, MEDCO
- Johnny Barnes, Baker Triangle
- John Hinson, MAREK
- Jon Grime, Polk Mechanical
- Mike Kotubey, TDIndustries
- Walt Johansen, Fluor Corporation
- Daniel Harris, Osburn Contractors Inc.
- David Masterson, Dee Brown
- Bill Mitchell, JMEG
TEXO Advisory Members:
- Meloni Raney, TEXO
- Jack Baxley, TEXO
- Randy Humphrey, Humphrey & Associates
To learn more about CEF or to request training catalogs, you can contact their office at 972-574-5200 or visit their website at www.ntcef.org.
The most fundamental building block, the foundation of any project, is the skill of the builder.
