Goochland students shadow building inspectors to explore trade careers

Two Goochland County ninth-graders spent a day in the field with the Department of Building Inspections, following Building Official Casey Littlefield and Deputy Building Official Mike Eutsey through residential neighborhoods and a large commercial project. For Nathan Kempf and Sawyer Stevens, the ride-along was less a school exercise than a look at the county jobs that shape permits, construction timelines and how fast homes and businesses can move forward.

The county used the May 13 experience to show how career and technical education can connect directly to local government work. Building Inspections exists to protect public health, safety and welfare by making sure construction meets the minimum requirements of the Uniform Statewide Building Code, and Goochland says permits are required for most construction work to ensure public safety and compliance with land-use rules. That makes inspectors, code officials and the skilled workers they work with part of the same development pipeline.

The visit also put the county’s broader growth pressures into sharp relief. Goochland County said Nathan is interested in becoming an electrician, while Sawyer pointed to the need for skilled trade workers to support the housing market. The county’s Community Development structure brings together building permits and inspections, environmental and land development review, planning and zoning, and public utilities, showing that the students were seeing one piece of a larger system that affects how new construction gets reviewed and approved.

County leaders framed the day as workforce development with a civic purpose. Dr. Jeremy Raley said the partnership helps connect classroom instruction with community-based learning and shows students rewarding careers that exist in their own county. Dr. Andy Armstrong said the division cannot maximize student potential without real-time interactions with the local workforce. Goochland County Public Schools defines work-based learning as school-coordinated workplace experiences tied to students’ career goals, and says every student should have at least one such experience before entering the workforce, the military or college.

The county’s own numbers help explain why that matters now. U.S. Census Bureau estimates put Goochland’s population at 29,187 on July 1, 2025, up from 24,727 in the 2020 Census, and the county had 322 building permits in 2024. At the same time, the county approved a $9.45 million contract for Fire-Rescue Station 8 on March 3, 2026, a project funded by the 2021 public safety bond referendum, underscoring the amount of construction and inspection work already moving through the system.

Eutsey’s path offered a practical example of how hands-on trade experience can lead into public service. Goochland said he became deputy building official after Littlefield was named building official on February 1, 2026. Eutsey started as a trim carpenter and framer, moved into residential building inspection in 2006, worked in New Kent, Hanover, King and Queen, and Chesterfield counties, and joined Goochland in September 2025. That background gave the students a direct view of how the county can turn trade experience into a local career that helps keep inspections moving and development on schedule.