The 2007 ABC Construction Exhibition has come and gone with much success. This was only accomplished through the efforts of over 140 volunteers from 30 ABC member companies. The primary driver for holding the ABC Construction Exhibition has been and continues to be two fold. 1st a place to showcase the Craft Championships and the people who work so hard to get to this level of knowledge and understanding of their respective craft and second a place to introduce to both students and teachers the possibilities of a good career in construction industry.
This year The ABC Construction Exhibition had our largest participation to date. We had approximately 400 students and teachers from a number of the area high schools. These included: Brazosport, Brazoswood, Angleton, Danbury, Sweeny and Columbia/Brazoria. We also had a small group from as far a way as Palacios come attend the day’s activities.
We are all painfully aware; there is a tremendous shortage of skilled craft workers in our industry today. We must be proactive. Keeping this in mind, our goal has been and continues to be to reach out to the juniors and seniors of various local high schools, as well as their teachers, counselors and parents, and show them the facts about working in construction. These students are in many ways the future of our construction industry.
This year each student had the opportunity to watch a Journeyman craftsman performing their craft in the Craft Championships, demonstrate their own talents and skills and knowledge in the Hands-on Challenge including: Welding, Heavy Equipment, Scaffolding, Pipefitting, Carpentry, Electrical, Power Tools, Safety & fall protection, and Inventory Control. Each student also had a chance to participate in one session from a list of: Human Resources/Employment Office, Primavera /Planning and Scheduling, and Show Me The Money/Payroll.
A very “Special Thank You” has to go out to each and every ABC Member and helper, All the Sponsors and contributors, and the Brazosport College who made this year’s ABC Construction Exhibition such as success. Next year we’ll be bigger and better. Our future and the future of our Industry depend on it!