Bristol, Virginia, is now home to the Virginia Construction Trades Academy (VCTA), a new school focused on hands-on training for the construction trades serving the Tri-Cities region.
VCTA’s programs are structured as full-time training, 40 hours per week for 16 weeks. Each program also includes a two-week internship with a local contractor, which puts students in real job settings and gives employers a direct way to meet trainees before they finish the program.
The campus sits on 10 acres on Rhode Island Avenue in Bristol. The school will use two primary buildings, totaling about 33,000 square feet, for instruction and for administrative and faculty space. VCTA also has a 90,000-square-foot concrete slab planned for student projects and parking.
VCTA is approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to operate in the state. The school also reports that its plumbing and electrical programs have been approved by the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupation Regulation.
Student applications are open now, and classes are projected to start in Fall 2026. The school says financing options are available for qualified students. The article also cites the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in noting the construction industry’s shortage of skilled workers. For craft-driven scopes of work, including brick, block, and stone installation and repair, programs that combine shop learning with contractor internships support the next generation of field-ready workers.
VCTA is located at 1000 Rhode Island Ave. in Bristol.
Read the full, original article from Patriot Publishing LLC here.