Keith West, who has always been interested in building things, was also always intrigued by the various apprenticeship programs and the career opportunities that came with them. He became the only person in his family to work in the trades.
Born in Anchorage, Alaska, he moved to Arizona in 2018, where he spent four years at the Arizona Builders Alliance apprenticeship in Phoenix. To grow his skill set over the years, he tries to gain knowledge from each project and then pass it on to the newer apprentices to help their careers grow as well.
“I’ve always had a knack for small details and retaining information,” he said. “Those things, as well as good planning, are what I consider to be the most important skills in the trade, and I always encourage my coworkers to ask questions and follow through with their plans when working on a project.”
As a foreman, he is currently running the American Express project in Phoenix, which will be completed this October. His day starts with discussing the plan for the day, and it ends with reviewing what was completed and how to improve going forward.
“I am responsible for making sure that the project is not only done on time, but is also neat and presentable for the customer,” he said. “I take organization and safety very seriously, so it’s very important that everyone on our crew is on the same page.”
He said integrating technology into projects will always make the jobs easier.
“Being able to look up and view drawings on your phone has made such a huge difference to production over the last few years,” he said. “I am excited to see what the future of construction technology brings.”
