South Bend Regional Chamber Of Commerce: Building Trades Week 2022 Provides Virtual Career Exploration Opportunities

Press release from the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce:

January 11, 2022

Join the South Bend Regional Chamber as we partner with the Greater Niles Chamber and Michigan Works! to bring together industry and educators, including premier sponsor St. Joseph Valley Building Trades and presenting sponsors MACIAF (Michiana Area Construction Industry Advancement Fund) and NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association), to present our second annual BLDG Trades Week. This event shines a virtual spotlight on high-demand building and construction trades career opportunities in our region.

The digital format extends the reach of this program beyond one day – and to more students, educators, parents, and community members. The 2021 event connected 1,500+ students from two states, four counties and nine districts to 33 industry and education partners – and the BLDG Trades Week 2021 landing page has had 4,400+ page views to date.

BLDG Trades Week 2022 activities will kick off Monday, January 24, when the landing page goes live with these digital resources:

•    Industry & Education Directory – Learn about building and construction-related businesses and training partners in the region: who they are, what they build, and the opportunities they offer – from certifications and apprenticeship programs to entry-level jobs and management roles.

•    Career Pathway Pages – Explore the wide variety of building trades-related careers, current openings, projected job growth, important skills to develop, and education/training requirements.

•    Industry Videos – View these videos to see building trades in action. Students can get a better understanding of the featured business or training/education partner, their culture, and available jobs/career pathways.

•    Educator Resources – Provides hot links and ideas on how to introduce and integrate building trades into classroom learning and a customizable presentation is also available.

The week of January 24 will bring students, businesses, and community members who work in building trades together, virtually, through six Industry Chats. The schedule for these 30-minute virtual sessions will be available January 20.

“The Chamber is excited to build student and community awareness of skilled trades careers, as well as the wide variety of construction-related roles – estimators, project managers, property maintenance, architecture, and engineering – there are many career options,” says South Bend Regional Chamber President & CEO Jeff Rea. “As our region continues to grow, individuals with these skill sets will play key roles in building our infrastructure, from roads and housing to the expansion and updates of our utilities. We look forward to finding new ways to increase collaboration between business and education in our region and are proud to serve as a connector and leader of initiatives like BLDG Trades Week.”

Industry and education partners who would like to get connected through BLDG Trades Week 2022 are encouraged to visit the information page and/or contact [email protected] for additional information.

This press release was produced by the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.