Construction job exploration welcomes local young people

EDWARDS (25News Now) - Peoria’s future workforce gets a glimpse at possible construction careers on Friday.

SkillsUSA Illinois and the Youth Workforce Development Foundation hosted this experience in Edwards.

Nearly 150 students from local schools were connected with unions and employers.

Students were able to practice hands-on interactive activities and mock job interviews.

This is an effort to give them exposure to the industry.

Organizers say these events create a pipeline of workers, who may already be thinking of a career in construction.

These are students that are in construction programs at their high schools, so they’ve already expressed a little bit of interest in the field. But now, today they can actually tangibly see what tomorrow could look like for them as they leave high school, and are ready to go into industry,” said Eric Hill with SkillsUSA Illinois.