FBA Contract Development Text

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Program Description

The Future Builders Academy (“FBA”) is a 4-year immersion program for Civilization Builders combining hands-on building, collaborative design, and open-source product development of housing, infrastructures and architectures, and the Global Village Construction Set. The program blends experiential work, structured learning, and collaborative literacy training to prepare Participants for real-world execution of complex, multi-disciplinary projects, such as saving the world. Each year consists of 10 months of active participation and 2 months of vacation, which may be used for work, study, or both.

The goal of the program is three-fold:

  1. Learning how to design and build just about anything — including homes, machines, infrastructures and architectures, tools, consumer goods, agricultural operations, manufacturing systems, and social systems such as education, banking, legal frameworks, governance models, and social security infrastructures.
  2. Learning how to learn and solve problems relevant to pressing world issues.
  3. Learning how to be a human — namely, an admired leader and constructive global citizen.

The overarching aim is to cultivate an abundance mindset, which unlocks unlimited possibility across the three areas above.

Practical Outcomes

Graduates of the FBA are eligible for partnership with OSE as Civilization Builders, with starting salaries of $72,000/year in construction roles or $95,000/year as construction managers. Apprentices also have the option to continue their studies for an additional 4 years in an advanced immersion track comparable to graduate study. This extended track focuses on transitioning from Civilization Builder to Civilization Architect, enabling participants to design new architectures of civilization based on extensive build experience.

4-year – 8-year – 12-year Programs

OSE offers structured advancement opportunities:

  • The initial 4-year program produces Civilization Builders.
  • The 8-year track develops Civilization Architects.
  • The 12-year track prepares Open Source Ecologists, capable of designing and innovating in systems-level design (institutions of civilization).

OSE intends to partner, hire, or otherwise collaborate with Civilization Architect graduates within its ecosystem to deploy about a million OSE campuses worldwide, for Distributed Market Substitution of the current economy with open source.

That is only the beginning. At this point, OSE will be offering the final post-Master’s study (Ph.D.-level equivalent) in the design/build of innovative institutions to evolve and upgrade existing ones. For individuals who meet requirements of hands-on build skills along with multiple key intelligences — including Abundance Mindset, soft skills, design/build ability, enterprise, and other domains — OSE may consider candidates for advanced placement directly into the Master’s or Ph.D.-level programs.

The Rigor of the Abundance Mindset

The Future Builders Academy is founded on the principle that abundance is not a wishful ideal but a rigorous practice. The apprenticeship pay scales offered — beginning at levels that exceed average Ivy League graduate starting salaries — are not accidents, but the result of discipline, collaboration, and a holistic commitment to learning.

Pay Scale Clarification

Apprentice builder pay is based on performance evaluation, measured through self-documented competency tests at the Rapid Learning Facility and benchmarked against industry standards for comparable performance. We take this point seriously, as this can be an effective motivator of apprentice agency.

  • $14/hour corresponds to beginner-level competence.
  • $35/hour corresponds to expert-level competence, benchmarked against the top 1% of carpenters in the state of Missouri.

Because OSE employs modular build techniques that are more efficient, combined with a holistic learning approach, we are able to offer these high performance-based pay levels. This is an upfront commitment that we are operating beyond industry efficiency standards, precisely because we are open, collaborative, and committed to an abundance mindset.

The above payscales are determined not as general pay, but pay for performance in each of the 20 trades and sub-tasks within each of the trades. Thus, competency tests will be taken across numerous skill areas, such as framing, cabinetry, flooring, painting, concrete work, water system, electrical, heat pump, solar energy, etc. Differences in pay scale for different trades can be significant between areas, and some areas may have higher or lower knowledge-work requirement vs plain physical labor. Therefore, differences levels of pay for different tasks are normal and expected - and in 4 years the goal is to perform at a high level of competency in each. The progression will be documented transparently with time, so that the apprentice can gauge their progress and pay to pace themselves according to their individual ambition. Before taking on management roles, high competency levels (theoretical understanding of design/build, practical technique, assessment of efficiency, ability to troubleshoot, problemsolving ability, and performance of quality control) are expected.

Competencies are taught before entering the arena - ie, before engaging in actual builds. Quality control standards are kept, as we are producing for market and with building codes in mind. OSE teaches the theoretical and practical aspects of design/build - and evaluation is performed on a regular basis through written and practical exercises. All of these are documented on each person's work log - which is started upon formal acceptance into the program. After class time, competency tests follow - and then the setting of pay. Thus, when engaging in production builds - clarity and transparency are abundant.

To determine pay, the Apprentice follows standards benchmarked upon known mainstream industry standards and upon OSE data collection - or Factor e Farm industry standards. Both sets of standards are collectively called 'industry standards' herein. The process is:

  1. OSE class time and hands-on instruction
  2. Apprentice study and practice - determined by the Apprentice
  3. Performance of specified tasks in the test - with video time lapse. Tasks may be specific short tasks or tasks of longer duration, such as production of multiple modules. This assesses not only performance, but logistics and organizational aspects and context-switching.
  4. Documentation of specified quality control points. Pictures and data on critical build features. If any quality control points are not met, they must be corrected during the test.
  5. Time correction adjustment is addressed for any missed quality control points. For example, if review indicated a missed quaility control point, time corresponding to the required correction is added to the final time result.
  6. Time to complete the tasks is benchmarked against industry standards.

Expectations

  • Apprentices are required to engage in the learning necessary (as determined by OSE’s curriculum and evaluators).
  • Apprentices are expected to document their performance transparently to track their growth, validate their progress toward pay increases, and set a replicable example for others.

This transparency and rigor forms part of OSE’s mission to place apprentices on a globally significant path toward practical post-scarcity.

OSE’s Philosophy

  • Abundance is not a “hippie” ideal, but a path of practical dedication.
  • Anyone who commits to this rigorous path of learning — provided they possess the moral intelligence to pursue a deeper purpose — can succeed in this program.
  • Apprentices are expected to expand their consciousness, abilities, and index of possibilities beyond what they previously thought imaginable.
  • OSE commits to guiding apprentices on this path, rewarding them with opportunities to grow pay scales, responsibilities, and leadership capacity.
  • Participants are encouraged to set audacious goals, track their growth, and document their processes so future cohorts can build on their footprints.

OSE’s Mission Alignment

This commitment is not only personal but planetary. By increasing the index of possibilities for human growth and collaboration, OSE delivers on its promise: to create a culture of abundance through open source product development and collaborative innovation.

OSE Curriculum

The Future Builders Academy builder curriculum extends beyond technical training to incorporate:

  • Collaborative workflows
  • Ergonomics
  • Production engineering
  • Human factors

These areas of study are intended to set benchmarks for an abundance-based civilization.

The program integrates qualitative and quantitative studies, with data collection performed on a regular basis throughout the program. This ensures that apprentices are not only gaining individual skills, but also contributing to collective knowledge-building about how humans can collaborate more effectively in design, build, and enterprise environments.

Links

  • Outliers in Missouri - carpenters at $72k are in the top 1%. [1]