Since 1994, the Arkansas Construction Education Foundation has provided quality training to produce a safe, competent and professional workforce for contractors. Aimed at those who enjoy working with their hands and their heads, the foundation’s primary goal is to satisfy the ever-growing demand for skilled trades-persons.
ACEF currently trains craft professionals in Electrical, Plumbing, and HVAC. The foundation also conducts safety and management education courses for construction, commercial, and industrial operations. Safety is an important component of all ACEF training courses.
With so many locations across the state to choose from, students will never have to travel far to maintain their studies. After completing an ACEF training program, graduates are prepared to take the licensing exams for either electrical or plumbing, or receive certifications in the case of unlicensed trades. ACEF is certified by the U.S. Department of Labor and recognized by the Arkansas Department of Career Education.
We are proud to announce ACEF has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as an Apprenticeship LEADER and is the second program from the State of Arkansas to receive this designation.
In December of 2016, ACEF and AGC Arkansas entered into a partnership to provide superior training and education opportunities for both apprentices and contractors.
That’s what the Arkansas Construction Education Foundation does. It’s our sole purpose and we do it well. Our students get all the educational opportunities they need to climb as high as they wish on the construction industry’s ladder of success. Good for the individual and the industry, ACEF’s apprenticeship training programs offer our students the unique opportunity to earn full-time rate of pay while learning the skills they can take anywhere in the world.
ACEF knows quality construction comes from a well-trained workforce. Education and training is the key. That’s why we’ve developed apprenticeship training programs effectively covering all levels of the industry. Our courses are specifically designed to meet the educational needs of the contractor, subcontractor, tradesperson, and apprentice. Arkansas Construction Education Foundation’s programs not only offer state-of-the-art courses in management, job-site supervision, apprenticeship training and safety; they’re structured to reinforce the work ethic so essential to increased productivity and efficiency.
The demand for skilled craftspeople is great. With that in mind, one of ACEF's goals is to attract the young, the career-displaced and the economically disadvantaged to careers in the construction industry. Once in our program, they will get the training and career placement opportunities and information needed to put them on track for employment and advancement in the construction industry.
ACEF is putting a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to good use by creating and conducting its Environmental Workforce Job Training Program. As a part of the national Brownfields effort, ACEF is training the homeless and unemployed to start new careers as environmental technicians, helping to remediate toxic sites in their own communities.
ACEF employs experienced trainers who are required to be certified by completing a Train-the-Trainer course of study. In addition, because ACEF instructors are generally employed full-time in the trade they teach, students get “hands-on” instruction particular to real-life situations.
The foundation’s task-driven, modular training program maximizes the student’s potential by combining illustrated materials with structured classroom activities conducted by certified instructors. Recognizing the need for flexibility in apprenticeship training, the program is set up to teach a single task or the entire craft. The state-of-the-art instructional materials contain task objectives, text with illustrations, task procedures and descriptions, and review questions.
4421 West 61st Street Little Rock, AR 72209
