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Construction Career Day

By Michelle Murdock, Freelance Writer

Over 1,000 students from school districts across the state participated in the Massachusetts Construction Career Day held at the New England Laborers' Training Center in Hopkinton in May.

The goal of the two day program is to expose high school students to the opportunities available in the construction field, to give them a taste of the skills they will need to enter the profession and to give them a taste of the skills that they will learn if they choose a construction career.

According to Executive Training Director James Merloni, the average age of a construction worker is 47 years old. While an experienced worker is a great benefit, Merloni says the industry will struggle in ten to fifteen years.

"By getting younger people into our industry, and working with all of the groups that are here today," said Merloni, "it can help showcase what are wares are to a younger generation."

Merloni says venues like Construction Career Day answer questions such as "Is construction for me?", "Do I want to work with my hands?", and "Do I want to get involved in a dangerous, yet rewarding industry?"

After being issues hard hats and safety goggles, students were led through a series of exhibits and demonstrations designed to demonstrate various construction skills. One of the first stops was the carpentry area where students had a chance to try their hand at building a tool box.

The day is desiged to be hands on and students have the chance to try operating backhoes, pavers, cranes and more. One of the more popular exhibits was the hazmat area where students were allowed to suit up in protective gear.

Brockton High Student Mark Garland signed up to attend and was glad that he did.

"My teacher said we would get to operate all of the machinery," said Garland. "When I came here and saw all the backhoes and everything, I had a ball."

Exhibitors included construction and related companies, vendores, equipment dealers, colleges and engineers and provided exposure to careeer possibilities not always discussed at area high schools.

"They really have a fun time," said Hopkinton High School teacher. "It's different; they don't get exposed to this at the high school."

Another exhibit drawing large crowds was the demonstration of the jaws of life by the Ashland Fire Department.

Ashalnd Call Firefighter and Dispatcher Mike Torosian was on site to talk about the importance of a timely rescure and to demonstrte how to use the tools.

"We never take the person out the car," said Torosian. "We take the car away from the person."

Torosian also explained the term "the golden hour."

"You have one hour to get that patient, from the time they crash, to a trauma center," said Torosian.

But the highlight for most students' visit to this exhibit was to actually cut up the cars.

At the end of the day, the goal is all about learning and encouraging construction careers.

"I think oftentimes the students, and even the teachers, don't think a lot about jobs or career opportunities in the construction industry," said Greg Doyle of the Federal Highway Administration. "It opens their eyes when they actually come to this event and they realize that the work that we do, and there is certainly a vast range of different jobs and skills set are needed; this isn't just about showing up and picking up a shovel and not having any type of skills. You really do education and training to come into the construction workforce today."

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