October is designated Careers in Construction Month, which is a month-long celebration of the well-paying careers offered within the construction sector. It’s a great opportunity for AGC’s online construction career brand, Build-Oregon, to raise awareness about construction trades and inspire future generations of skilled workers.
Build-Oregon’s contribution during Careers in Construction month includes three different activities. First, AGC led the way in getting the governor’s office to proclaim October as Careers in Construction Month across Oregon. This brings additional attention to efforts occurring across the state, while also leveraging a national network of other states who have also secured proclamations.
Second, Build-Oregon is active across multiple social media platforms promoting construction careers. This includes the #webuildoregon hashtag campaign which is mainly deployed through Instagram and the posting of articles and stories through Facebook and Twitter. These stories often highlight the industry, workforce development needs, and specific occupations within the construction sector. Build-Oregon also utilizes paid advertising through social media platforms to promote the Build-Oregon website and the Work Now! job board. The objective with these campaigns is to direct individuals living and working in Oregon to online construction career resources. This is a great opportunity to engage with a younger audience to not only promote careers in construction, but also steer them to resources which allow them to take a next step, such as applying to a job or enrolling in training.
And third, Build-Oregon includes a suite of resources that can help young people, teachers, counselors, parents, and other influencers to learn more about construction careers and how to access them. One of the most popular resources is the Build-Oregon’s construction career poster which describes 20 different craft labor positions. This poster is popular with construction and other teachers and counselors at the high school level. Additionally, Build-Oregon offers individual cards of the 20 craft positions which mimic what is found on the poster, and includes a position description, wage information and available training. Cards are provided as a pack like baseball cards which makes them attractive to school-aged youth and easy for teachers to use in a classroom. Last but not least, Build-Oregon just completed a Construction Careers Pathway map which provides information on the steps individuals may take to achieve a construction career. It also provides more detailed information at certain junctures. Since pathways across construction vary to a degree within each individual company, this map is not intended to illustrate every detail, but only to provide general information.
Careers in Construction Month offers an additional platform to raise awareness about construction careers, and while Build-Oregon will surely take advantage of the opportunity, it is important that these messages are constantly and thoroughly communicated to target audiences throughout the entire calendar year. So, while you’ll see an increase in activity from Build-Oregon in October, you can rest assured that Build-Oregon will be promoting construction careers in the other eleven months as well. If you’d like to receive the resources mentioned above, please don’t hesitate to contact us: build-oregon@agc-oregon.org.