On the cool, overcast morning of Wednesday, September 17th, the area outside M&T Bank Stadium was humming with activity. More than 1,200 Maryland high school students poured off their school buses, bright neon yellow shirts and hard hats standing out against the grey sky. Today was all about exploring opportunities in engineering, architecture, and construction.
Luckily, the rain mostly held off, giving students plenty of time to dive into hands-on exhibits hosted by companies, unions, apprenticeship providers, and colleges across the state.
At The Campaign for the Historic Trades booth, Recruitment and Outreach Manager Jordan Riggs and Outreach Associate Ryan Anderson were excited to introduced students to the career paths within historic trades.
This was the Maryland Center for Construction Education and Innovation (MCCEI)’s third annual Construction Career Day in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium. Construction Career Day is a free field trip designed to help students discover pathways in the built environment. MCCEI is a nonprofit that works to connect students from all backgrounds with opportunities in construction, architecture, and engineering, and to inspire the next generation of skilled professionals.
The Campaign’s booth was hard to miss. Students were drawn in by brick-laying challenge, a friendly competition using foam bricks to see who could lay the most courses in 30 seconds. The game was a hit, and once we had their attention, we shared information about different historic trades programs, such as our apprenticeship program (with occupations including Preservation Carpentry, Historic Window Technician, and Deconstruction Technician) and our partner HPTC’s Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP).
These conversations couldn’t come at a better time. Many of the students we spoke to were juniors and seniors nearing graduation and considering their future careers. For those already enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, we discussed their choices of next steps ranging from trades school to apprenticeships. For students with no prior experience, we gave them information on pre-apprenticeship programs where they could get more hands-on experience and discover if a historic trades career is a good fit for them.
While many students were interested in trades and had construction experience, some had never heard of historic trades. One CTE carpentry student told us he had no idea that historic carpentry was even a career option. Another student shrugged and said his dad laid bricks for work, but it seemed too boring and repetitive. We explained how preservation work can be different. Each project involves understanding the original materials, figuring out the right techniques to preserve them, and using specialized skills to restore history rather than just building the same structure repeatedly.
These conversations underscored the importance of events like Construction Career Day. Many of these students are deciding what comes next for them right now. Some already know college isn’t the right path, but they haven’t found an alternative that excites them yet. By showing them that historic trades are a viable and rewarding career path, we’re giving them an option they might never have discovered otherwise.
Events like Construction Career Day are crucial for this exact reason: they spark curiosity, open doors, and help students imagine futures they didn’t know were possible.
If your organization is hosting a career fair or hands-on trades event and would like The Campaign for Historic Trades to attend, please fill out this Outreach Inquiry Form and our staff will be in touch.