After spending a few days visiting O'ahu construction sites and construction companies, Michelle Cazimero found a good answer to a question her Kahuku High School math students often ask.

Cazimero and nine other high school teachers and counselors are spending two weeks as interns learning the ins and outs of Hawai'i's booming construction industry. And last week, they heard yet another lecture about the need for math skills among potential Island construction workers.

As she stepped through a construction site for new homes at Schofield Barracks to see theory put into practice, Cazimero spoke of her pupils' feelings about math. "The kids say, 'Miss, when will I ever use this?' "

Cazimero then swept her hand across a scene of workers swarming over homes-in-progress and said, "Well, this is their answer."

The state Department of Education and Pacific Resource Partnership, an advocacy group for union contractors, organized the second construction internship program in three years this summer to give Hawai'i teachers and counselors a real-world understanding of the kinds of white-collar and blue-collar jobs that are in demand now — and the skills needed to fill them.

Along with having their heads swimming with information, the teachers and counselors earn $1,500 in stipends.

"We feel that in order to get something as an industry, we need to give first," said Kyle Chock, executive director of Pacific Resource Partnership. "We're trying to give back as much as we can to those who are on the front lines, so they can give to students, who in turn might consider construction jobs further down the road."

The interns have heard about nontraditional construction jobs that could appeal to all kinds of college-bound and other high school students — jobs as civil engineers, safety engineers, accountants, architects and office workers.

But the hands-on construction jobs should be filled with people willing to work hard at a job they love — not those just wanting a paycheck, said John Williams, a framing superintendent for Sunrise Construction who addressed the group.

Williams has been shot in the left eye with a nail gun, had two knee surgeries and suffered various injuries requiring a total of 30 to 40 stitches

"It's a fun living and the money's great," Williams said. "But you've got to want to do it, not just be in it for the money."

Most of the interns have some sort of construction or shop-teacher background. Even for them, last week — the first week of their internship — was full of new information on techniques and materials used on job sites today.

"The concepts are the same but it's definitely different," said Jeremy Johns, who teaches building construction at Wai'anae High School and whose father owns a construction business in Indiana. "The industry changes so much every year."

Like others, Johns knew that Hawai'i is enjoying a building boom but was nevertheless surprised by the demand for workers and the salaries they earn.

The industry will need about 150 additional carpenters alone each of the next six years, Chock said. Journeyman carpenters earn $32.70 per hour, in addition to lots of overtime needed to get projects completed on time. In September, their wages will rise to $33.70 per hour.

"The numbers they throw out — I didn't know it was so big," said Jeff Cadiz, who teaches basic woodworking, and building and construction, at Mililani High School.

The interns also have heard other, more troubling statistics, such as data that show 40 percent of carpenter applicants cannot pass either a drug screen or the eighth-grade-level entrance math test. The gloomy math performance has inspired the teachers to push their students even harder.

"I've always emphasized math in my classes," Johns said. "But I'm definitely going to be hammering them on fractions."

In just the first few days in the program, Cadiz got the message: "Our kids are deficient in math. My focus is going to be, 'Pay attention in class.' "

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.