Build My Future OKC event looks to increase student interest in skilled trades

Build My Future OKC, a project of the local Professional Women in Building Council of Chamber member Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association, will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 26 at State Fair Park and is a hands-on, skilled trades career exploration day. Participating high school students will be exposed to multiple professional career options in the home building and skilled trades industry, including carpentry, masonry, electrical work, painting, HVAC technology, plumbing and more.

Through various learning experiences, including operating equipment and other educational displays, local 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students will be able to get a sense of the opportunity, benefits and advantages associated with a career in the skilled trades industries. Lunch, personal safety gear and t-shirts will be provided to each participating student.

More information, volunteer sign up and donation form: buildmyfutureokc.com

Conceived to positively impact the ongoing construction labor shortage, the inaugural 2019 event featured more than 30 indoor and outdoor activities for students, including operating diggers and other machines, building miniature structures with Lego-like foam blocks, driving simulators, laying brick and smoothing concrete and others. The success of the event helped the council win the National Association of Home Builders' Best Council of the Year award for its division in 2020. Planning, producing and executing the event connected the Professional Women in Building (PWB) members with other Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association (COHBA) members and other members of the local community in OKC. 

"It got people excited to participate as exhibitors to provide interactive, hands-on building experiences for the students and volunteers to staff set up and the event. It activated support – financial and resources – with companies and organizations in our home builders association, our community and even at the national level," said Marla Esser Cloos, green home consultant, and Professional Women in Building of Central Oklahoma and Build My Future OKC Immediate Past Chair. "We worked with our OK Builder Foundation, COHBA, nearby HBAs, the Greater OKC Chamber, the OK Career Tech schools in our area and numerous other organizations and community members."

Along with connecting students and members, Christy Howell, CEO of CRH Interior Design and current PWB / Build My Future OKC Chair, also found the event to be more than simply the sum of its parts.

"Build My Future OKC is much more than just an event. It is our gift to and with our community, our contribution to connecting students with training and job opportunities--one part of the puzzle to addressing the labor shortage in building," she said.

For more information, contact the PWB Build My Future OKC team at [email protected] or visit BuildMyFutureOKC.com. You can also keep up with Build My Future OKC on Instagram and Facebook.