CINCINNATI — Think of a police or fire academy for building inspectors. A new program in the City of Cincinnati is training dozens of people to get into the profession right now.
In Avondale, a group studying to become inspectors gathered Tuesday at a construction site for 11 brand-new townhomes.
"One of the things we pay attention to is the connections and the fasteners," said one of the instructors on-site.
"Once we have the full set of plans in our hands, is what is the material that is in the specifications to be applied to the roof system or to the outside of the building," the instructor later explained.
Those are just some of the things the group is learning while visiting job sites throughout the city on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
"I always wanted to be a building inspector when I came to the city," trainee Cameron Keesee said.
Keesee is one of the dozens in this program who has a background in HVAC and sanitation.
"It's a lot to take in, so I'm still learning as we go on each building is very different," said Keesee. "Safety, that's the first thing we look for, (then) the exit routes, and then we start looking at foundation."
Another trainee, Brandi Taylor, said she has already learned some much in her four weeks of training.
"I'd say you'd have to have an eye for detail, but everyone has to start somewhere, I think anyone can be taught," Taylor said.
She had a carpentry background but decided to pivot.
WCPO 9 also spoke with Art Dahlberg, director of the city's buildings and inspections department, who discussed the demand for building inspectors.
"I have 60 building inspector positions and I have 22 people in class, so we've been trying to figure out how to make this work, and we were down easily one-third and still trying to do 100% of the work," Dahlberg said.
The pilot program not only fills the demand left by the retiring or soon-to-be-retiring building inspectors but also makes the field more diverse in Cincinnati.
"You couldn't be eligible to the training unless you brought those five years," said Dahlberg, referring to the five years of experience in construction the state used to require in order to become a building inspector.
Dahlberg said he and the city persuaded the Ohio Board of Building Standards to re-think that model.
"We're trying something different and I think at the end of the day, it's going to be very successful," said Dahlberg.
