Building the next generation
Young people doing impactful work, one build at a time
This year’s GlassBuild America once again brought labor into the spotlight. During one of GlassBuild’s Main Stage sessions—Building the World We Want to See: Building the Next Generation—Emily Pilloton-Lam shared her experiences working with young people on construction projects to serve local communities. Pilloton-Lam is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Girls Garage, a design and construction school for girls and gender-expansive youth ages 9 to 18, as well as an architectural designer, builder, educator and author.
“I believe that young people are incredibly talented and underestimated when it comes to being able to do real-life impactful work,” says Pilloton-Lam.
Teaching high school in North Carolina, Pilloton-Lam created a one-year program where students built projects and structures to fill community needs, including a farmers’ market in an agricultural town. Students fully designed and researched the project and presented ideas to the town. “This project came together like a homework assignment,” says Pilloton-Lam.
“They were out every day, building the project together. It was incredible, everyone wanted to see this come to life.”
As an added bonus, 10 businesses started because they now had a venue to sell their products. “The point is to have the opportunity to build something that you’re proud of, the feeling of pride and contribution to your community,” says Pilloton-Lam.
In another project, students fully built two tiny homes at Opportunity Village in the California Bay Area to address the housing shortage. During this project, she noticed that young women were as talented, creative and technically knowledgeable as any other student, but there was a dynamic of self-censoring themselves and social negotiation. Pilloton-Lam started working with small groups of young women to create an intentional and welcoming environment just for young women—and out of this, Girls Garage was born. “If we’re going to build a truly equitable and beautiful world, it has to be inviting to everyone,” she says. “A truly equitable and diverse community.”
More information on Girls Garage and other initiatives by Pilloton-Lam can be found at emilypilloton.com.
More information, resources on recruiting young people
The National Glass Association supplies resources on workforce development, including three toolkits that range on topics such as a guide to career fairs, onboarding, and manufacturing career recruitment and training. All of these resources can be found at glass.org by navigating to the Education tab and then Resource Toolkits.
