SkillsUSA Illinois Event Brings High Schoolers to Construction Careers

PEORIA -- Today could be just the start of a rewarding career in construction for hundreds of central Illinois students.

SkillsUSA Illinois hosted its second Construction Pathways: Career Experience event at the Caterpillar Edwards Demonstration and Learning Center Dec. 1 for direct interaction with hiring and job opportunities in construction.

Learn more about this innovative event from the group's press release:

Area students were busy Friday putting on their hard hats, getting in the trenches and learning what it takes to build our economic future. They just might make a career of it.

More than 400 students from 16 Peoria-area high schools came together Friday, Dec. 1, for the second SkillsUSA Illinois Construction Pathways: Career Experience 2023 event – a hands-on, all-day experience at the Caterpillar Edwards Demonstration and Learning Center.

Pekin-based SkillsUSA Illinois partnered with the Youth Workforce Development Foundation and used a state grant in the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship program to introduce and encourage students to consider a career in the construction industry and hear from the experts firsthand the skills and experience it takes to make a construction career successful.

Students spent the morning at workshop stations for hands-on activities and at a career fair. Local construction unions showcased their careers in the industry, helping students quickly learn a construction skill and demonstrate they can use it. Participating contractors put students through a mock job interview to help them learn how they need to prepare and present themselves professionally for a construction career.

This was the second event highlighting construction careers by SkillsUSA Illinois in the Peoria area since March. SkillsUSA Illinois’ mission is to help employers statewide address a growing skills gap with its nonprofit partnership of students, instructors, and industry to introduce and encourage young people about employment needs and the skilled workforce required to meet them.

Event organizers thanked founding partner and local contractor Otto Baum Company, the more than 20 contractors and nearly a dozen trade union locals, and the participating schools for a hugely successful event. The first Construction Pathway event last March drew about 150 students, with more recent SkillsUSA events drawing growing crowds and increased interest in a wide variety of careers.

“Our mission is simple, but powerful and incredibly necessary,” said SkillsUSA Illinois Executive Director Eric Hill. “We know the struggle is mutual and real: businesses struggle to find the talent they need, and students who have that talent and drive don’t know where to turn for meaningful careers. We offer a unique opportunity to bring together employers, unions, educators, and students to educate our youth and make those connections simpler, and help students learn what they need to know to be successful in their chosen career.

“The contractors and unions here today are the bedrock of our economy. They build our homes and schools, pave and repair our roads and bridges, power our businesses and provide good-paying careers that support families and communities. We will continue to build the exciting momentum we have seen this year to help make connections in the construction and other industries, and challenge our next generation to push themselves and drive our future success.”

Learn more about SkillsUSA Illinois and its innovative work to connect students with meaningful careers: https://www.skillsusaillinois.org/.

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