SPINDALE (Sept. 30, 2009) - Students and faculty in the Construction Trades program at Isothermal Community College will celebrate Careers in Construction Week during the week of Oct. 12-16, 2009.

Among the activities included is a Construction Careers Expo on Thursday, Oct. 15. The event will be held at the college from 2 to 5 p.m. and is open to the public. The event will be held in front of the Applied Sciences Building and in the Amphitheater.

During the morning and early afternoon more than 250 high school students are expected to participate in the event.

Careers in Construction Week is a nationwide campaign designed to increase public awareness of the hard work and contributions of our nation’s craft professionals and emphasizes the role construction industry partners play in helping youths and adults achieve career success.

“This is a great way for people to get familiar with employment opportunities in the construction industry,” said DeWalt Koone, dean of Applied Sciences and Technology at Isothermal. “We wanted to include high school students from Rutherford and Polk counties, but we also wanted to open this to the community to show interested individuals the kinds of things that are available. Skilled construction jobs can be high paying and very rewarding.”

Skilled trade workers are in high demand. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1 million skilled workers will be needed to fill construction jobs by 2014.

Partners in the event include Rutherford County Schools, Polk County Schools, the Region C Workforce Development Board, Shaw Construction and many local contractors and builders.