After 20 years of working in restaurants, Deion Harmon was ready to get out of the kitchen. During COVID, he started doing small construction jobs in his neighborhood to make extra money and discovered that he enjoyed it.

When a friend told him about the free classes available through BY Training, he jumped at the chance. In early 2024 he enrolled in classes at the Mattison Corp. headquarters in InTech Park. Now, he has graduated BY Training with his NCCER Core certificate and an Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10 Hour Construction Safety and Health (OSHA-10) card. Armed with those certifications, plus a letter of recommendation from a previous client, he believes he’s got excellent prospects.

“I want to make good money, take care of my family and be proud of what I do,” Deion says.

He’s confident his training will allow him to make that happen. He’s been bowled over by the helpfulness of the BY Training team, as well as folks at NeighborLink Indianapolis, a not-for-profit that provides free home repairs to older and disabled homeowners. NeighborLink Indy provides field work opportunities to BY students.

Especially since he doesn’t have family in town, Deion has really appreciated the personal touch of the folks at BY and NeighborLink.

“They’re just amazing,” Deion says. “Even though I’m finished with the class, I can still call them and say, ‘I need help.’ I’ve never met people so eager to make sure I have what I need. I can call whenever I have a question. The people who are involved are beautiful people.”

Deion now has a future vision with two priorities: environmentally conscious practices and safety. He thinks green building is the future of construction, so he’d like to learn more about using materials that are earth-friendly. And eventually he’d like to work in OSHA field compliance.

“I love customer service, and I love making people feel better,” Deion says. “I want to be the guy to go to construction sites and make sure they’re being safe and doing the right thing for people working for them, taking care of people.”

But he knows he needs to learn the ropes first.

“I’m going to a job fair Friday,” Deion says. “It’s gonna happen.”

Stories like Deion’s wouldn’t be possible without support from Lilly Endowment – Thank you!