ABC-CT holds 2012 Construction Career Days - May 23-24: with CEC and UCAS at the Durham Fairgrounds

The one event that invites all of the construction industry to be together turns out to be the event that brings the best in Connecticut's commercial construction industry together also. That event is Construction Career Days, which had been on a sabbatical for the past three years. During the sabbatical CT students and teachers and the future of the construction were ever present. CT Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Construction Education Center (CEC), and Utility Contractors Association of CT (UCAC) staff, members, and volunteers were proud to show that the construction industry offers career opportunities that impact the quality of life for all citizens of Connecticut. On May 23 and May 24, almost 1,000 high school juniors and seniors with their teachers and career counselors took a really great field trip to the Durham Fairgrounds. While on the yellow school buses they may have thought the smell of fried dough, popcorn, and the ever present ferris wheel would await them at the fairgrounds. Upon arrival though, it was a completely different. Students and teachers were greeted on the bus by one of the many volunteers who reviewed the day's program and it started with learning how to line and wear a hard hat as required at a construction site. What a construction site awaited them. There were inside and outside exhibits to visit and explore. Students learned how to build a brick wall, the skill necessary to operate an excavator, crane, and skid steer. They saw the role that science plays in construction at the sprinkler and hydraulics booths. Truck simulators, the CT State Police Convincer, and the railroad crossing exhibits reminded students of the importance of being responsible drivers and passengers, and to slow down in construction work zones. Discovering what the various colors markings mean on local roads -red for electricity, and yellow for communications - was part of the Call Before You Dig display. Experimenting with fiber optics at the Comcast booth, or taking a climb up one of United Illuminating telephone poles were also options. Talking with folks who represented technical engineering and architectural colleges, plus state and federal construction safety and health officials provided the students and teachers an opportunity to see how education, safety, and health are of vital importance to the build up and out industry. The long time tools of the trade, ladders, hammers, blended with the new high grade pre-cast concrete pipes and energy-efficient products that show how the construction industry embraces change. Students and teachers left knowing that there are lasting opportunities for them to be a part of changes such as building new hospitals, renovating schools, designing neighborhoods, and repairing bridges here in CT and nationally. The 2012 Construction Career Days was a big hit for all, especially the student who is rethinking or wondering where he or she could fit in the industry. It could be a lasting memory of one of the many volunteers who witnessed a student's face lighting up when his feet hit the ground after a climb up a telephone pole or after the student safely drove an 18-wheeler at the National Construction Career Day's truck simulator booth. CT ABC, CEC, and UCAC know that the construction industry has much to offer the youth of today, to build a better tomorrow. Next year, in 2013, we plan on making it an even better experience for the kids because they are our future. Check out photos from the 2012 event at www.ctrodeo.com. Click on Construction Career Days.