unCommon Construction Launches Industry Badge Awards to Recognize Partners Building the Next Generation of Skilled Leaders

The unCommon Industry Badge Awards recognize the local businesses whose engagement most exemplifies the core workforce-readiness skills unCommon Construction teaches.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, September 26, 2026: unCommon Construction (uCC) presented its inaugural unCommon Industry Badge Awards at its annual Birthday Bash celebration, recognizing the local businesses in construction and associated fields whose partnership with the organization's youth apprenticeship program most exemplified core workforce-readiness skills over the past year. Participating partners received customized hard hats and engraved awards to commemorate their commitment to uCC’s mission, while being celebrated by almost 200 of their peers and members of the unCommon community in attendance.

The event featured the awards ceremony, plus a keynote speech by uCC alumna Daneia Mitchell who spoke about her experience as an apprentice and is currently pursuing a career as an electrician. Guests enjoyed food from Munch Factory and music from the Matt Thomas Jazz Band and DJ El Camino (aka, Michael Hecht of GNO, Inc.). Moen, the #1 faucet brand in North America, was the lead sponsor for the event, along with many local sponsors and silent auction donors who made the event possible, 

unCommon Construction is a New Orleans-based nonprofit that hires high school students as “apprentices” to be paid an hourly wage and earn school credit and scholarships while building a house or completing home renovations for clients. Through this program, uCC's high school apprentices earn “hirability” badges, demonstrating sustained mastery of a workplace skill over time. The hirability badge system, developed by MHA Labs, is a third-party, research-backed framework used by work-based learning programs nationwide to help track consistent, observable growth. This year, for the first time, uCC extended that same recognition system to the businesses in its Greater New Orleans Industry Circle, the network of local companies that support its apprentices through philanthropy, mentorship, employment, and hands-on engagement.

Partners can now earn company-level badges across the same four categories apprentices are measured on: Time Management, Professional Attitude, Team Work Ethic, and Problem Solving. Once all four badges are earned, youth and partners are eligible for a Hire Up badge. Any number of partners can be recognized as a “badge earner” in a given category, with one company named that year's exemplar for demonstrating the clearest, most sustained example of the skill. Company badges accumulate year over year rather than resetting: a partner can earn the same badge multiple times, building a visible record of engagement over the life of the relationship.

“Our industry partners already show up for these apprentices in a hundred small ways,” said uCC Founder & CEO Aaron Frumin. “It’s amazing how many of them are demonstrating the same skills and commitments our youth are developing: showing up ready for work, helping us solve problems creatively, working well across teams, and setting the tone for how a professional carries themselves in our industry. These badges are our way of celebrating what they’re already doing to set an example for our youth and for others across our industry and community.”

2026 unCommon Industry Badge Award Winners

Time Management Award: Gibbs Construction, for showing up reliably and spending the most time with apprentices in the most ways.

Problem Solving Award: Landis Construction, for creatively helping solve real challenges through board service, in-kind support, and being part of the work.

Professional Attitude Award: Mayer Building Company, for setting the cultural tone through an authentic presence with youth, most visibly by creating jobs for uCC graduates.

Team Work Ethic Award: Ryan Gootee General Contractors, for teams that show up alongside uCC youth with collaboration and spirit, session after session.

Hire Up Award: Landis Construction. Chosen by youth vote, this award goes to the one company that went furthest beyond the call of partnership across all five Industry Circle focus areas: Engage, Mentor, Employ, Build, and Donate.

2026 unCommon Industry Badge Earners

Twelve Industry Circle partners earned at least one badge this year: AECOM Hunt, AOS Interior Environments, Brighter Horizons, Chris Paving, Frischhertz, Gallo Mechanical, Gibbs Construction, Hahn Enterprises, Landis Construction, Pelican Playgrounds, Ryan Gootee General Contractors, and Mayer Building Company. Landis Construction earned badges in all four categories.

Eligible companies must be annual members of unCommon's Greater New Orleans Industry Circle, a collective of industry partners who commit to support and engage in the unCommon Apprenticeship program throughout the year. Enrollment in the 2027 Industry Circle begins in January, but companies can make their commitments anytime before then. Interested companies can reach out to info@uncommonconstruction.org for more information.