Eden’s Lucas Steffen is pictured wearing a VR headset as part of an excavator training simulation at Construction Career Days. Steffen is a construction technology student at Ormsby.
LAKEVIEW — Hundreds of high school students wearing bright yellow helmets dotted the vast IUOE Local 17 training field in Lakeview for the 16th Annual Western New York Construction Career Day.
This popular event brings together students and professionals and has long been touted as a way for juniors and seniors to learn about the many career opportunities in the construction industry. It also offers several practical activities such as operating heavy equipment, bricklaying, welding, painting, and carpentry.
BOCES students from Erie 2-Chautauqua-Catalogus’ Ormsby, RoGuidis and Hughes Educational Centers recently participated in a two-day construction career day. Organizers from the International Federation of Driving Engineers estimate that about 1,000 students will visit training ranges throughout Western New York this year.
In addition to hands-on activities, students were able to learn about various equipment and new technologies used in highway and building construction. University representatives and employers were also made available to high school students within the on-field training center.
“I thought there were a lot of good things they had in place to provide a variety of opportunities,” said Cole Johnson, a senior in the Conservation and Natural Resource Management program at Hughes.
North Collins Central School’s Ellie-Mae Krubeck, Ormsby Conservation student, is pictured at a welding demonstration at Construction Careers Day.
Mr. Johnson discusses a career in the construction industry. But after attending Career Construction Days, he said, “It opened my eyes to other things.”
Grayson Lewis, also a conservation student at Hughes University, was able to operate the crane during the center’s visit to Lakeview.
“It was very easy,” said Lewis, who is considering becoming a crane operator. “We often use excavators at school, so it’s similar to that.”
Scott Farr, Ormsby Education Center conservation instructor, said Construction Career Day opens the door to some of the jobs students may encounter in the industry.
You can also meet with potential employers as well as trade union and university representatives.
“There are a lot of different avenues here for them to dabble a little bit and see things that pique their interest,” Farr said.
Farr said the annual event allows career and technical education students to see jobs in a wide range of trades they may not be able to experience in their programs, such as welding, bricklaying and equipment operation. added.
That certainly appealed to Alex Kuhn, a senior in Ormsby’s welding/metal fabrication program.
“It was good to see that there are so many different opportunities out there after school and to meet some of the people who represent them,” Kuhn said.
Hughes Conservation Instructors Jeff Angeletti and Chris High have been big supporters of Construction Career Day and the benefits it brings to high school students.
“This is a great way to expose students to a lot of things related to the content and equipment aspects of what we teach,” High said. “But there are other elements that make up the construction industry: concrete, welders, ironworkers, masons, carpenters, etc.”
Mr. Angeletti thanked event organizers and the event’s mission to introduce students to the construction industry.
“They get first-hand experience with some of the equipment and talk to people in the industry,” he said.
Career and Technical Education programming is typically offered to middle and high school seniors, with students choosing the option to participate in the E2CCB CTE program in their sophomore year. For more information, please visit e2ccb.org.
