Demand For Skilled Workers Will Be High

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Demand for skilled workers to build the new Minnesota Vikings stadium has already begun, even though the old Metrodome is far from demolished.

Summit Academy OIC is a nonprofit education and vocational training center that's assisting in the hiring process. CEO Louis King says the Sports Facility Authority, Mortenson Construction and the Vikings have provided $800,000 for worker training.

The Sports Facilities Authority expects employment to peak at 1,000 between April and August of 2015. King says the stadium isn't the only large scale project in the area, so demand for skilled workers will be high. Projects underway, or about to begin, include the St. Paul Saints stadium, the St. Croix River bridge and light rail construction.

King says his center has an initial job order for 100 skilled trade workers.