From Pre-K to the Pros

Contractors expand efforts to attract talent

BC&E News | June 19, 2026

With more than 300,000 open construction jobs across America currently and projections that construction trades could face an 8 million worker deficit within a decade, contractors are expanding efforts to educate young people about good construction career options. Some of those efforts have gotten more elaborate and inventive.

Tailgating with hardhats

As part of its Crafting Futures initiative, Clark Construction and multiple industry partners hosted a skilled trades expo for middle and high school kids at Northwest Stadium in partnership with the Washington Commanders.

*Clark Construction is connecting with a broader array of youths by staging trades expos in sports venues. Photo courtesy of Clark Construction.*

“We had part of the parking lot so we brought in all sorts of heavy machinery that the kids could get up in. And we had an entire plaza filled with more than 30 trade partner booths,” said Kris Manning, COO of Infrastructure at Clark Construction.

Clark and trade partners created an array of hands-on opportunities in those booths.

“Clark brought in a virtual welder where you put on goggles and use a wand to simulate welding,” Manning said. “There were places where kids could mix mortar, put pipes together or build concrete formwork. An iron worker brought a steel beam that was set up five feet above the ground so kids got into harnesses, tied off and walked the beam.”

*Rosendin conducts a five-day summer camp to teach middle schoolers about construction trades. Photo courtesy of Rosendin.*

The event also provided about 800 young people, parents and educators with key information about construction careers.

“There’s a pretty common misconception that construction is only a Plan B for people who can’t get into college. We show people that it’s a legitimate Plan A,” Manning said.

At sports venues, Montgomery Community College and other locations, Clark highlights how the trades offer competitive salaries, opportunities for career advancement and the satisfaction of building facilities that benefit communities. Through its partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment and its teams, Clark is able to reach even broader audiences.

Construction camp

*Hands-on activities are key to boosting students’ knowledge of and interest in construction careers. Photo courtesy of Clark Construction.*

Every summer, Rosendin hosts a five-day Camp Build for middle school students. After learning about jobsite safety, students dig into a series of projects: creating decorative concrete blocks, assembling a lamp, soldering copper conduit into a 3D cactus, building and painting dog houses, and learning to drive a forklift.

Such hands-on experiences at Camp Build and numerous school visits teach kids about career opportunities they may have known nothing about previously, said Violet Carter, Rosendin’s Career and Workforce Development Coordinator.

Carter, a 30-year electrician, reached out to every school in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC when she started her workforce development job. Now, she does 20 to 26 events each month with people ranging from Pre-K to young adult. She is regularly delighted by the number and variety of students who get enthused about construction work.

“When teachers assume a student won’t pay attention or doesn’t listen, I’ve found those are often the very students who become my best students,” Carter said. “Everybody has a talent. You just have to find it.”

More outreach needed

Such outreach efforts deliver results. Applicants for Clark’s carpentry apprenticeship program rose from 25 in 2024 to 350 this year. Carter — who also supports several organizations for women in construction — has seen the number of young women entering electrical training programs climb.

*Both Clark and Rosendin have seen increases in the number of young men and women entering apprenticeship programs. Photo courtesy of Rosendin.*

“I feel if more contractors did outreach to young people, we would have more people entering the construction field,” she said.

The BC&E Foundation conducts Builder In Training (BIT) workshops multiple times a year. Most recently, member companies Ariosa & Co. LLC, Bunting Door & Hardware Co., Inc./LokTek and the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company provided a hands-on introduction to careers in construction and the trades to 120 Eighth graders in Howard County.

Manning has a simple recommendation for contractors considering an outreach initiative.

“If you’re a smaller company, find a school in your community and partner with them,” he said. “Educators will know which kids are not going to college. If you can connect with just a few kids and create a great experience for the first student or two, you will have instant cheerleaders who can go back to that school in two years, talk about how they are making good money and enjoying their jobs. That will inspire more kids to look at the construction trades as a viable career choice.”

Companies featured in this article: Ariosa & Co. LLC, Bunting Door & Hardware Co., Inc./LokTek,Clark Construction, Rosendin and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company