The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

ilities during the few hours he was at
the fairgrounds. He had just learned of
the career day that morning.
He was lucky to get a last-minute
spot. Coordinator Parks said they were
only able to offer 500 Mat-Su Valley
and Anchorage students the chance
to attend, and they had to fill out an
application showing their interest. She
said she is hopeful the Construction
Career Day will become an annual
event and expand each year, allowing
more students to attend.
Parks said she especially wants to
reach freshmen and sophomores so
they can begin to take appropriate
classes and get involved with vocational
programs. She said in her role as
a career planner she often asks young
people to write down every job they
can think of.
“They hardly think of construction
at all,” she said.
This is a national trend the industry
is trying to buck. Like others
at the career day, Parks observed that
the construction workforce is aging
and that not enough young people
are coming on. She said events such
as the one at the fairgrounds have
become popular across the United
States in recent years.
In addition to hammering nails
and cutting pipes, students could also
browse information booths to learn
about programs such as the Mat-Su
Career & Technical High School, the
Mat-Su Job Center and the Alaska Vocational
Technical Center.
Kevin Norton of Anchorage Sand & Gravel,
left, cracks jokes with Dimond High student
Leonard Dauphin. The Alaska Construction
Career Day was an opportunity to introduce
young people to trades that will desperately
need workers in the next years.
Wearing hard hats, groups of teenagers
migrated around Raven Hall to
gather advice on writing resumes and
collect hand-outs on what employers
look for in new hires – problem solving
skills, pride in work, good manners
and the ability to manage stress.
But at the end of the day, it was the
tools and big equipment that grabbed
the students’ attention.
“Come on,” Grace Amundsen
called out to her friend after completing
her interview. “Let’s go find something
else to climb on.”
Eowyn LeMay Ivey is a freelance
writer who lives in the Chickaloon area.