Construction Job Fair Hopes To Bring Students To The Industry [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD -- Construction experts demonstrated their skills today (Wednesday) in hopes to attract a younger generation into the field.

Construction season is upon us and members of the Central Minnesota Building and Construction council are showing today's kids there is opportunity in the field.

Michael Ganz is the president of the Trade Council and says employment in the industry continues to decline.

"Through the recession we had tough times in construction and a lot of our members retired and so we need to reach the young people and show them it's not only a job it's a career," says Ganz.

Over 400 students from 17 area schools piled into the River's Edge Convention Center for some hands on experience in the different trades available.

"Students can actually lay a brick, pound some tin, pull some wires and do things we typically do on an actually job site," says Ganz.

This is the first year of the hands on job fair and Ganz says it's important for students to see the work they do.

"The unique thing here is some of the trades is not what the kids envision, so within the trade union there is different classifications of the work," says Ganz.

He says he can see the job fair continuing every year and hopes it inspires students to find their future careers.