Construction Career Days is hands-on event for high school students.

Helps to fill important vocational training gap for the industry.

This spring, RI Construction Career Days will enable high school students to learn about the construction industry firsthand. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, this key outreach event is scheduled to resume in Spring 2022. Open to all RI high school students, Construction Career Days is an opportunity to learn from real industry pros about the diverse talents needed in a typical project — including estimating, purchasing, finance and a variety of jobsite related roles.

Putting construction on the radar at an early age.

Since the “shop” classes that were once plentiful in high school and junior high curriculums are now few and far between, the construction industry has lost an important breeding ground to attract and recruit young talent. Programs like Construction Career Days are designed to help the industry address the multilevel staffing challenges indicated by statistics such as:

• The current average age of a construction worker is about 43 years old.
  US Department of Labor, 2020

• 53% of skilled trades workers are over the age of 45.
• The soon retiring 55+ segment accounts for about 22% of the workforce.
• Younger workers (19 to 24) currently account for less than 10% of the workforce.
  National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 2018 survey

A sponsorship opportunity for CIRI and its members.

CIRI will again be joining forces with RIDOT, the URI Transportation Center, trade unions and participating CIRI member companies to help make this two-day event an educational success. Any members interested in sponsorship and/or participation opportunities are encouraged to contact the CIRI office at exec@ciri.net or 401-738-8530.