In the News: Students look at options in construction at career day

High school juniors and seniors from around the Mid-Valley drilled holes, pulled levers and stacked bricks Tuesday at the 12th annual Construction Career Day held at the Salem Airport.

The event, at Salem's McNary Field, was coordinated by the local chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction and its chairwoman, Susan Wood of Salem Heating. Juniors and seniors from Salem-Keizer, Albany, Newberg and beyond were invited to learn about the industry and test out equipment to spark potential interest in a construction career.

Wood said this was the biggest year yet with 59 registered vendors and 311 students in attendance.

Vendors included contractors, construction unions and educational institutions, like Chemeketa Community College, Oregon State University and the Career and Technical Education Center that is scheduled to open next year in the Salem-Keizer School District.

"The goal is to teach students there is a career opportunity in the construction field," Wood said.

Informational fliers and handouts showed students that there are other options besides a four-degree from a university. Those alternatives include community college and getting certified right out of high school, Wood said.

"If you're willing to learn, there are great jobs out there," she said.

With widespread budget cuts that resulted in the termination of technical and shop classes in high school, this event is the only way some students hear about opportunities in the technical field.

"There is a wide variety of things they can do they've never been able to do before," Wood said.

Evelin De Los Santos is a junior at Early College High School in Salem. She attended Construction Career Day because her counselor encouraged her to go.

De Los Santos learned about drafting. She is interested in pursuing a career in 3-D printing.

"They're interesting," she said of the vendors at the event. "It gives you something else."

McKay High School senior Michael Enriquez is involved in the district's residential construction program, which will move to the Career and Technical Education Center next school year. He represented CTEC with a few of his peers at the event.

Students benefit from seeing demonstrations of the work instead of just listening to how it's done, he said.

"You don't just talk about it and say 'this is what you do,'" Enriquez said. "You actually do it."

Story by jjohnson@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6714 or follow on Twitter.com @Joce_Johnson1