Making space for opportunity

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how makerspaces open up worlds of possibilities for kids looking to build skills in the inner city.  

Kids in the inner city often struggle to find the same opportunities as their suburban counterparts. Kyle Nurminem, who is a commercial and premium account specialist for Total Roofing Systems, saw this firsthand, but also saw an opportunity to make change. In this episode of the Roofing Road Trips® podcast, Kyle talks to Heidi J. Ellsworth about how makerspaces can support inner city kids and build a more skilled workforce.  

Kyle was first introduced to this idea when he was working in Tampa Bay, Florida. He explained, “There was a construction summit between technical schools and employers in the construction industry at the time. That led to me in a leadership, strategic role to me discovering makerspaces around the Tampa Bay area and mapping those resources for employers and technical schools to tap into the intellectual property in our most deprived neighborhoods.” 

These makerspaces are safe places for students to go and learn skills. They are an entrepreneurial space, a learning space and a workspace all at the same time. Kyle shared, “Makerspaces are any type of an urban, available space that is converted to serve some type of a purpose to the community. So, say, I have a wood shop in my backyard. Some of these people have full garages and wood shops. And on the weekends, they open it to the public, or anybody who wants to come in and learn how to use the machinery or create something.”  

Like he did in Tampa Bay, Kyle is working to support and map these resources to help more inner-city kids build the skills to succeed. He explained, “You can promote events and bring kids out of these less fortunate areas. Because you can't tell me that a young adult or a child in an urban area has no less capability than the one in the better off suburbs, they just lack the opportunity.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the episode or Watch the video for more about makerspaces and how they can build a stronger workforce.