NCTWC. A digital home for a mission that matters.
The Northeast Construction Trades Workforce Coalition (NCTWC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to educating, inspiring, and connecting young people with rewarding careers in the construction trades. They needed a website that could carry that mission to students, schools, contractors, and partners across the region.
Who they are, and why they came to us.
NCTWC was founded to address one of the most pressing workforce challenges in the construction industry — a severe and growing shortage of skilled tradespeople.
Through their Minds Under Construction programs, they bring hands-on trade experiences directly to students from 2nd grade through high school: in-school toolbox builds, dodecahedron assemblies, job site tours, builder presentations, and career exploration visits to local businesses.
The coalition is backed by a growing roster of corporate members — contractors, lumber companies, and trade organizations across the Capital Region — who share the belief that the trades deserve to be front and center as a career path, not a backup plan.
When Five Towers came on board, NCTWC had no website. They had a mission, a leadership team, an active program calendar, and a growing membership base — but no digital presence to reflect any of it.
The Challenge
A growing coalition with no online presence.
NCTWC was already doing meaningful work — running programs in schools, building corporate membership, and generating media coverage from outlets like WNYT. But without a website, there was no central place for any of it to live.
A nonprofit coalition has multiple distinct audiences to serve at once — students and families learning about the trades, schools and educators interested in hosting programs, contractors and businesses considering membership, and donors looking to support the mission. Each of those audiences needs to find what’s relevant to them quickly. Building a site that served all of them clearly, without feeling cluttered or unfocused, was the core challenge.
What We Did
The work, and the thinking behind it.
We designed and built the full site in WordPress — custom to NCTWC’s brand, structured for multiple audiences, and built to grow with the coalition as their membership and programs expand.
Built for a mission-driven organization with multiple audiences.
The site gives each audience a clear path — students and families can explore programs, schools can learn how to get involved, contractors can review membership levels and benefits, and donors can give directly through an integrated donation platform. Event sign-ups are built into the site so schools, students, and partners can register for programs and activities without leaving nctwc.org. A dedicated programs section covers each Minds Under Construction offering in detail. A members directory, membership levels page, and news section bring the coalition’s energy and activity to life. The animated ticker of new members at the top of the homepage is a real-time credibility signal that shows the coalition is growing.
Written to inspire — and to inform.
NCTWC’s mission is inherently emotional — getting young people excited about careers that offer real opportunity, job security, and good pay without years of college debt. The copy had to be inspiring without being preachy, and informative without being dry. We wrote all site copy from scratch — homepage, program pages, about section, membership levels, and supporting pages — in a voice that reflects the coalition’s energy and sense of purpose.
Built to be found by the right people.
For NCTWC, search visibility isn’t about lead generation — it’s about reach. A school counselor looking for trade career programs in the Capital Region. A contractor evaluating membership in a workforce coalition. A parent researching alternatives to the four-year college path. All of them are searching, and NCTWC needs to show up. We built the site with search in mind from day one — so every audience the coalition serves has a path to find them.
“On behalf of our Coalition, I cannot express enough appreciation to Michael Nelson and Kelsey Sherman. Kelsey’s creativity, vision, and commitment to excellence created a website we are so proud to call ours. The site is vibrant, interactive, and truly represents who we are and the work we do. Thank you over and over again.”
After Launch
What changed after launch.
NCTWC launched with a professional, mission-forward web presence that finally reflects the scale and ambition of the coalition — and gives every audience a clear reason to get involved.
Schools can learn about programs and request a visit. Contractors can explore membership levels and join. Students and families can see what the trades actually look like as a career path. And as the coalition continues to grow — new members, new programs, new media coverage — the site is built to keep up.
Five Towers continues to support NCTWC after launch — handling site updates and content changes as the coalition grows, adds members, and evolves its programming.
Project Details
Services Provided
- Website Design & Build
- Copywriting
- SEO Foundation
- Managed Hosting