EDUCATION UPDATE:
Florida Construction Career Days BY LAUREN HEIGHTON, STAFF WRITER
Scenes from Central Florida Construction Career Day. Photos provided by Florida Construction Career Days.
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ach year, thousands of students across Florida are introduced to the construction industry. They have the opportunity to get their hands dirty and see what career opportunities the field holds during Construction Career Days (CCD). Coordinated and presented by transportation industry partners from the public and private sectors, CCD gives students who may not have known about available jobs in construction the access to hands-on learning with machinery in a field trip format. For CCD, Florida is broken into five regions, each with their own events for Northwest, Northeast, Central, Tampa Bay and South Florida. In January, 3,000 students from nine counties in Central Florida flocked to Construction Career Days (CCD) to discover what could be their career for years to come. High school juniors and seniors across Central Florida are invited to attend the events at the Volusia County Fairgrounds, including Learning Labs where they gain an
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understanding of an array of concepts like bridge design, construction equipment, drone use in surveying and how asphalt works. The demand for qualified construction workers in the state has made CCD more necessary than ever. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Florida, the state is suffering from the largest skilled labor shortage in recent history. Qualified workers are needed to accomplish the expanding demands of the industry. Transportation to and from the event and meals are provided to attendees, removing barriers to entry and giving employers the chance to interact with inquisitive high school and technical students. All of this coordination is thanks to the help of over 30 committee members from Central
