For Parents

invaluable advice for their future

  • According to the Association for Career & Technical Education, 81% of dropouts said “more real-world learning” might have influenced them to stay in school. Research shows that a ratio of one Career/Technical Education class for every two academic classes minimizes the risk of students dropping out.
  • A Harvard Graduate School of Education report found that the “College for All” rhetoric that has been so much a part of the education reform movement needs to be broadened significantly to become a “post-high school credential for all.”
  • “People like apprenticeships in theory but aren’t convinced for their own children.  The construction industry still has progress to make in winning over parents and schools,”  says Ian Wybron, researcher at Demos.

As a parent, you want your children to be healthy, happy and successful. As the quote above notes, you probably haven’t been thinking that success for your child would be a career in construction.  We are here to change that thinking.  We believe if you take a look at the facts about today’s construction industry, you will be won over about the great potential it offers your child.

You should know that the construction industry of today is NOT your grandfather’s construction industry.  21st Century construction professionals are assertive and confident in using their knowledge of new and emerging technologies to completely transform the world around them.  

The construction industry offers dynamic, ever-evolving, career opportunities for students who want to enter the workforce immediately after high school and those who want to pursue college degrees.

The industry needs individuals who enjoy working outdoors as well as those who wish to work at a computer screen.  A construction job is a dynamic environment that changes daily.  Our society needs the skills of those who have the ability to envision a building or bridge and create the plans others will use to turn that vision into reality. 

The construction workforce is as diverse as any you can imagine.  Some—such as project managers, estimators and designers – have degrees in business or technology.  Others use advanced skills gained from years of training to turn their joy of building and creating into a trade that can vary from operating large equipment to building leading edge clean rooms, to installing complex electrical systems.

Students with an interest and aptitude in math, science, and technology in particular should consider careers in construction. From apprenticeship programs and trade schools to construction management degree programs at world-renowned universities, the industry offers a plentiful and varied range of educational opportunities.  And construction jobs offer a lifetime of good pay and benefits, the potential to advance and chances to be your own boss.

Helping to design or build a stadium, bridge, high rise, or hospital provides an amazing sense of accomplishment.  It is our hope that you will be better prepared to discuss these opportunities after reviewing this website.  Your advice to your child will guide them in deciding what they want to do with their lives and a career in construction may be one of the best decision they ever make.  Help them build a successful future!

For more information about the industry and opportunities construction has to offer, contact the career or guidance counselor at your child’s school and see the contact page of this website to connect with construction professionals who can provide more information on anything you see here. 

If you are interested in how different components come together to make a building work, a job in construction could be right for you. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, pipefitters and many more trades – construction has it all!

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