By Shelley Hanson
For The Intelligencer. Wheeling News-Register
WHEELING — Hundreds of Ohio Valley students learned about the trades and got hands-on experience during Project BEST’s annual Building Construction Trades Showcase on Wednesday at Wheeling Park’s skating rink.
Several companies and trade workers set up informational tables inside the park’s skating rink to talk with the students about what it is like to be an electrician, a construction worker, an equipment operator, an ironworker and more. In the parking lot, students got a hands-on look at some trades by operating a backhoe, finishing concrete, welding, tying rebar, trying new electric tools including jackhammers, and more.
Project BEST Director Nathan Butts said the event is an important for students to learn about the different career paths they can take in the trades. There were also a couple colleges there to talk about their two-year programs and a banks to talk about financial literacy, he said.
“We had 25 school districts come and roughly 820 students this year,” Butts said.
He noted it is difficult to measure, but he believes the trades career fair and other events held throughout the year by Project BEST are making a positive impact on students and local trades and companies.
“A lot of these trades are actively hiring and I do know they’ve seen an increase,” he said. “A lot of people are told there are no job opportunities in the valley and that couldn’t be more opposite than with the construction trades.”
Butts said in several trades first-year apprentices can make $40,000 to $50,000 per year and also have a pension and benefits.
“It’s kind of like the best-kept secret in the valley. People know about it, but when you really tell them about it, they’re like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know this was here,’” he said.
Butts noted that Project BEST’s role is to market and advocate for union construction in the Ohio Valley.
“So, there is an aspect to this, educating the youth, but we also want to educate business owners and officials here in the valley that when they have a construction project, we want it to be one of our union contractors,” he said.
The students were also given pizza and drinks for lunch and a chance to win prizes such as insulated cups, small tool boxes, tools and other gear.
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