PORT TOWNSEND — Any signs of a lagging economy haven’t hit the construction industry yet, so contractors are still clamoring for trained workers, carpentry program teacher Rick Tollefson told the Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

“There are jobs in the construction trade — right now,” Tollefson said.

Tollefson and co-teacher Fred Kimball have taught the nine-month long Level 1 Carpentry Program through Peninsula College for the past two years. The program is one example of the efforts of the Jefferson Education Consortium to provide career-oriented courses for residents.

“You can’t learn this from a book — you have to do it by hand,” Tollefson said.

The rest of this story appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition. Get the PDN delivered to your home or office by simply clicking “Subscribe.”