Skilled Tradesman, Gifted Communicator

Justin Israel’s career journey has been marked by a few twists and turns over the years. Perhaps the biggest one of all is his current occupation: After completing Construction Ready Pre-Apprenticeship training in early 2026, the 40-year-old Maryland native is now a member of the CR team as an instructor himself.

Justin graduated in February with Douglas Group 1, the inaugural Douglas County cohort in partnership with Elevate Douglas Economic Partnership. As he worked his way through the four-week curriculum, Justin’s instructors took note of his ability to connect with and encourage fellow classmates.

Closing the construction workforce gap is more than simply putting boots on the ground—workers on job sites must be well-prepared, which means knowledgeable instructors are needed to train them. Justin figured he would become one of those field workers again. He certainly didn’t envision himself in a classroom or construction lab—at least not until he discovered he had the heart of a teacher. Now he’s thriving in that role.

Read on as Justin shares his story in a Q&A format.

Where are you from?  Did you have any experiences with construction when you were growing up?
I was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Construction has been a part of me my whole life. I can remember all the way back to when I was probably eight or nine years old, my dad giving me little projects, telling me to help him hold this, help him fix that.

What were you doing before enrolling in the Construction Ready Pre-Apprenticeship program?
I actually had my own business back in Maryland, doing a lot of subcontracting work. My wife and I moved to Georgia about six-and-a-half years ago, but I wasn’t able to transfer my business license down here, so I didn’t get back into construction right away. I was doing some other things, working in the automotive trade, then working as a parts manager for a Harley Davidson store.

How did you learn about Construction Ready?
I was involved in a motorcycle accident at the Harley Davidson store when I was leaving work one night. Another employee, in their SUV, caused me to have an accident, and I had to have my left hip replaced. While I was doing rehab, that Harley Davidson shop closed down, so I was going to be back in the job market again.

As I was going through those rehab sessions, my wife came across Construction Ready on Facebook. She was actually looking for something for my stepson. I said, ‘Well, if he wants to do it, maybe I’ll take the class with him.’ I hadn’t had a chance to renew any of my certifications in quite some time, so now that I was healing, I was thinking I would try to get back into the industry and maybe try to find a project manager role or a superintendent role or something like that.

So we went to the WorkSource office in Douglasville to apply. My stepson ended up not going through the class after we went through onboarding, but I did. [Former CR training director] Johnny Hughes was my instructor, and I ended up kind of helping him throughout my time in the class. It was easy for me to relate to the other students and give them some insight on my experiences in the field.

I guess he and [career coach] Mary Williams kind of kept their eye on me. They approached me one day in class and asked if I ever thought about being an instructor. Johnny said I was doing a good job of taking the initiative and helping the other students.

What was your reaction to the idea of becoming an instructor?
I told them I had been in other managerial roles, I had been a foreman and a lead crew person and things like that, but I had never really sat in front of a classroom teaching and talking about construction. But I’ve always been eager to learn and just continue to grow and invest in myself and my education, so I was open to the opportunity.

When did you join the team, and what have you been doing in your new role?
I graduated in February, started with Construction Ready in March, and was teaching by June. I taught the Westside Works Group 53 class. I taught the recent Augusta class. I’ve helped with the Perry Career Academy class. And I’ve been following one instructor around and teaching the OSHA basic safety training for his classes. I hit the ground running and haven’t stopped.

What do you enjoy about your teaching role?
I love trying to help people and seeing them grow and better their skill sets. It’s definitely been a great experience. I’ve had students compliment me on the way I break things down and help them understand the concepts. When they graduate and move on into their careers, to have some of them reach out and thank me for the work I’ve done in helping them get to that point, that’s very gratifying.

Thinking back to your perspective from the student side of the process, what would you say to encourage a prospective student, someone who is thinking about applying for the program?
I would highly recommend it. It opens a lot of doors. It’s a huge stepping stone, and it definitely can help shape your future. Students are able to come in here, get their credentials, get the knowledge-based training as well as a good amount of hands-on training in a short time. It’s life-changing for people who take it seriously and really dedicate and invest in themselves. I feel like it’s a great opportunity for anybody who’s interested in a career change or just starting a career.