Dec. 11—Rogers County’s chapter of the Tulsa Home Builders Association hosted its first Build My Future construction career showcase Dec. 3.
Companies like Pixley Lumber, Crossland Construction and Builders FirstSource set up interactive tables in the Claremore Expo Center’s arena. Instead of sitting at desks, 140 Rogers County high schoolers spent the day driving excavators, hammering nails and practicing wood burning.
The HBA has put on similar events in Tulsa, but it partnered with Claremore Economic Development to hold its first in Rogers County.
Silas Ellis, talent and workforce development manager for Claremore Economic Development, said the point of the event was to show high schoolers what opportunities construction affords them.
“The construction trade is one of the fastest-growing industries and one of the easiest entry points for people to get into that can pay really, really good salaries,” Ellis said.
John Smaligo, CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors of Oklahoma, said it’s vitally important to show kids they don’t have to go to college to land a good career.
“Our industry has fantastic opportunities for those who both have gone to college, and for those who aren’t as interested in college,” Smaligo said. “Maybe they’re more hands-on oriented and like to be out in the field, like to be outside and do their work outdoors.”
ABC of Oklahoma brought to the event a scissor lift, which Smaligo used to take several students high up in the air so he could talk to them about their career goals.
Micaela Barbour, an office assistant at CertaPro Painters, showed students how to paint a door.
Barbour said all the students she talked to were receptive to learning, and she said it’s crucial to get kids interested in trades like painting so they can continue through future generations.
Claremore High School student Jordan Briscoe said he came to Build My Future because he wanted to learn more about welding, but he enjoyed learning to paint and said he might pursue it as a career.
Alexander Trent, who also attends Claremore High School, said land surveying caught his interest.
“The mean age is actually about 64, so because of that, there’s a lot of people that are gonna age out of it soon,” Trent said. “…In a decade, these people aren’t gonna be working. It’s a job that’s needed, but the interest is dying.”
Trent said the demand for land surveyors would work in his favor; he said Oklahoma Department of Transportation representatives told him he could make $64,000 yearly without a degree after six years.
Ellis said it’s crucial young people enter the construction industry in Rogers County because the population is growing — and that means more development.
“We need people to do that, and we want to show students you can make a really good living right here in Rogers County doing these kinds of trades,” Ellis said.
Cherlynn Reeves and Emily Machetta, members of the Professional Women in Building council within the Tulsa HBA, said they like to come to events like Build My Future to show girls construction isn’t a man’s world.
“You don’t have to just go work in the restaurant or wash clothes or do the things that women were taught that we should do,” Reeves said. “There’s many opportunities for girls in the construction industry … you can also swing the hammer, you can also drive the truck, you can also paint the houses or be the mason that bricks the home.”
Charlee Wilbanks, a Claremore High School student, said she came to get out of school but had a lot of fun with the interactive exhibits. She and fellow Claremore student Jonas Pokorny spent the day trying most everything — their favorite was driving RC cars provided by Builders FirstSource.
Wilbanks said painting appealed to her as a career path, but she already plans to become an architect.
Smaligo said up in the scissor lift, he had a lot of great conversations with students. Some came from families who’d been in a specific field like welding for generations, while others had a vague interest in doing something construction-related.
He said that either way, talking to young people about construction was heartening.
“There’s a lot of talk about this being the ‘toolbelt generation,’ and here today, you’re seeing that firsthand,” Smaligo said. “We’re excited to be a part of it.”